Past Lives
by KaleidoscopeKreation
Summary: Ryou's fist came down on the table. 'We've procrastinated long enough, Keiichiro.' he fumed. 'The Mew formula is ready again, and you know it.' Keiichiro looked down, avoiding his friend's eyes. 'We can't be sure. The risks are too great...'
1. Prologue

**Prologue**

**Stolen Brother **

'Kisshu!' Keiichiro screamed, running toward his little brother, who sat in the midst of the fire, tears streaming down his face. He couldn't reach him through the fire.

'Keiichiro!' The boy called in terror. The flames licked around him, and try as he might, he could not summon the power to transform into his Mew. 'I can't get out – I can't change!' he yelled frantically. 'Just get Izumi and Mika out of here!'

'But Kish!' Ryou called frantically, 'You'll die!'

'GO!' Kish roared, and so, only just holding back his tears, Ryou gathered up the two unconscious girls and ran with them toward the car.

'Kisshu...' Keiichiro said hoarsely, staring into the flames, but he could no longer see his brother's form. With tears flowing unstoppably down his face, Keiichiro turned and followed Ryou.

Staring dully over Ryou's shoulder, half-unconscious, Mika watched as a dark form swooped down into the fire, and then disappear. Not registering what she had seen, and only able to understand one thing – her Kish, her only best friend besides Izumi was gone. She slumped into unconsciousness beside her friend, a single tear slipping down her cheek.

***

Sitting in the space-craft above the building, Pai looked at the burnt and unconscious boy with concern. 'Will he make it?' he asked his father anxiously

Taishou smiled. 'Yes, with the correct surgery I think so. He may be useful; from him, we will be able to find out much about our adversaries.'

'Thank you for saving him, father,' Pai whispered, staring down at the boy. Pai was compassionate to the extreme, even to humans.

'You begged me so hard, I couldn't just leave him,' Taishou sighed. 'But be warned... after this, he will most probably become your adopted brother. And you have to think up the cover story.'

'No problem,' Pai grinned, looking at his new brother with happiness. Taishou smiled fondly toward his eldest son. _He has always wanted a brother. He has two sisters, but they never really filled that space that a brother left. I hope that we can save this human. _

Their mission was complete, the threatening data was destroyed, along with the power that allowed those Mews to transform. At least for a little while, they were safe.

And they had an extra useful member added to their side.


	2. Trying Again

**Chapter 1**

**Trying Again**

_Five years after the alien's fire destroyed the research base for a second time (the first time being the fire in which Ryou's parents died), and the Mew project is ready to go again – this time with some formidable modifications. Confident that it will be a success this time, and his cousin having been unscathed, Ryou is ready to go, but after what happened to his brother, Keiichiro is reluctant to restart - much to Ryou's impatience... _

Ryou's fist came down on the table. 'We've procrastinated long enough, Keiichiro!' he fumed. 'The Mew formula _is _ready again, and you know it!'

Keiichiro looked down, avoiding his friend's eyes. 'We can't be sure... the risks are still too great,' he defended. 'We were sure last time, too, and we had our base destroyed a second time!'

Ryou closed his eyes and counted to ten. 'Look, Keiichiro... I know that you're still torn up after what happened to Kish-' Keiichiro flinched, but Ryou carried on regardless '-but time is running out. It won't be long until the aliens attack, and we must be prepared.'

'What about this new power that you've developed?' Keiichiro asked. 'You say that with this, our new Mews will be stronger than the first three; but how can you be sure it will work?'

'You mean... the ability to turn into their animals?' Ryou asked, getting to his feet. 'Well, watch _this_!' Quick as a flash, Ryou picked up an injector gun from the table. 'No, Ryou! That is only for the Mews! What are you doing?!'

'Proving my point,' Ryou said shortly, and then injected himself. There was a burst of blue light, and then, where Ryou had been, a small grey cat stood, staring piercingly up at Keiichiro. Another flash and Ryou returned to his human form.

'And that was without the required DNA. People who have the rare genetical makeup we need will be able to do much, much more,' Ryou said triumphantly. 'Now do you believe that Project Mew Mew is once again ready to go?'

Keiichiro sighed. 'If what you say is indeed true, then yes, we can start. But I warn you, Ryou, of anybody else dies because of this experimentation, I will have no further part in it.'

'We'll use strangers,' Ryou said, 'nobody close to us.'

Keiichiro glared. 'That's beside the point.'

***

Izumi gulped back her coffee and yawned, running a hand through her hair. 'I feel like death warmed up,' she complained to her flatmate, Mika, as she pulled on her coat.

'Well, you shouldn't have stayed up so late last night working on that new cover design of yours,' Mika reprimanded. 'I know that as right hand to the editor-in-chief of _Shojo Beat, _you have to make sure that everything's perfect, but you definitely overwork.' Izumi pulled on her shoes and dragged a brush through her hair, swallowing the last of her cereal as she did so. Mornings were always chaos for the two girls, no matter how early they got up.

'I know, I know,' Izumi sighed. 'I really do... wait, Mika!' Mika stopped short just outside the flat turning back curiously.

'I just remembered... after you'd gone to bed last night, my cousin Ryou called,' Izumi took a deep breath, knowing her friend's reaction would be. 'They're... they're restarting Project Mew Mew.'

Mika's bag slipped through her fingers and onto the floor. Not even glancing down, she swayed on the spot, her face pale. 'They're... doing... what?' she whispered.

'Even after what happened to Kish,' both girls winced as his name was spoken, 'they think it will work. Ryou said that they've made some necessary adjustments from last time, and though I tried to make him rethink this, he wouldn't listen. He still treats me like a little kid.' Mika stood stock still in the doorway, staring straight ahead.

'Now I understand,' she whispered, 'what the dream was about last night.'

Izumi turned to stare at her. 'What dream?'

'I remembered what I saw the night of the fire...' Izumi nodded; Mika had told her about the dark form she had seen long ago. 'But then, instead of just a shadow, I saw Kish.'

'It must have been your Mew instincts coming up again.' Izumi mused. 'Obviously, now that the time is coming near, both of us are awakening. This morning, I could barely wake up, I was so exhausted... I felt like a nocturnal animal all over again.'

'Right, that settles it,' Mika said determinedly. 'Call into work sick, we're going to visit your cousin.'

'But I have to check the piece on _Fruits Basket _for the final draft today!...' Izumi protested.

'Forget it,' Mika just didn't take no for an answer, 'We are going to see those two maniacs and that's final! Didn't they _learn _from what happened last time?...'

'Fine, we'll go,' Izumi gave in, sighing. 'But I know my cousin; it won't make any difference.'

***

They were half way there, and Mika was still ranting.

'I mean, I can understand Ryou doing something like that, but why on Earth would Keiichiro do this?! It was his brother who... I bet that Ryou bullied him into it...' she ranted, more to herself than to Izumi.

At last, Izumi couldn't take it anymore. 'Look, Mika, will you give it a rest? We're here, anyway.' As the two girls came into sight of the building, Mika began to snigger.

'Look at it? Could it be any _more _pink than it is? Did they design it themselves, 'cause if so, I'm worried!'

'Shush, Mika, it's irrelevant how it looks!'

'Still...'

Just then, the cafe door opened, and Ryou stepped out. 'When he saw his cousin, he flashed her a charming smile and gestured that they come in. 'Izumi-chan! Great to see you!'

Izumi snorted. 'Don't you "Izumi-chan" me, Ryou. We're here to talk about your project! Both of think that you're totally... u-uhhh...' Izumi trailed off as Keiichiro came out of the cafe, looking around to see where Ryou had gone.

_Crap, _she thought furiously, _I thought that I got over him _long _ago! But he's grown his hair long again, and that suit he's wearing is so cute, and... oh, what's the use!_

Meanwhile, Mika was looking Keiichiro up and down, looking slightly impressed. 'Akasaka-san, when did _you _change into Mr Charming Bow-Tie?' she said curiously. 'Seriously though, what is with new outfit?'

'Well, seeing as I was going to be working as main chef in this cafe, I thought I should wear something more professional,' he smiled.

'Wait, back up a second,' Izumi said. 'You're turning this base into a cafe? _Why?'_

'To divert the cyniclon's attention; for a while, at least,' Keiichiro explained. Then he turned to Izumi, with a kind smile. 'Hello again, Izumi. How's life treating you? I heard that you're secondary editor of_ Shojo Beat_ now?'

'Uh... yeah...' Izumi managed, blushing. _He's always so charming!_'But enough talk,' she said, snapping out of her daze, 'we didn't come here to exchange career updates. We came to talk to you about Project Mew Mew.'

Keiichiro looked uncomfortable. 'Yes, well...'

Mika went in for the kill. 'It's just not acceptable! Last time, me and Izumi nearly died, Kisshu...' Mika gulped, but managed to carry on, '... yeah... and yet you think it's acceptable to let it all happen _again?!_ Where has your sense of decency gone? Especially you Keiichiro. He was your brother too!' Mika was on the verge of a breakdown. _Why can't they understand that Project Mew Mew just won't work?_

Ryou sighed. 'Though the death of Keiichiro's brother was awful, it doesn't mean that Project Mew Mew should be stopped. If we don't at least try and fight the cyniclons, then many lives will be lost – possibly even the whole planet. So, though it is unpleasant, the project is necessary. Do you understand?'

'Girls, we were hoping that you could coach the new Mews, teach them a little bit about how to fight chimera animals,' interjected Keiichiro. 'If you agree to help, than we have a much larger chance of winning.'

'Well...' Izumi said uncertainly.

'Without telling them _too _much, of course,' Ryou said.

Mika looked up, new anger in her eyes. 'And just what do you mean by that?' she challenged quietly.

'Well, we wouldn't want to lower their morale by telling them about the risks... and accidents... that have happened in the past. If they knew the cyniclons had already killed a Mew-'

'You mean,' Mika snarled, 'That you aren't going to tell them about _Kish_?'

'No,' Ryou said shortly, folding his arms. 'They don't need to know.'

Izumi straightened up, staring her cousin in the eyes. 'I'm sorry, you two,' she said clearly, 'But we are having no part in this scheme of yours. The new Mews should know what they're facing – but you're denying them that. We'll be there for the Mews if they need us, but only if they know everything they're up against.

'And besides,' she murmured as she and Mika turned to go, 'They didn't _kill_ Kish.'

'No,' Mika agreed. 'What they did was worse than that.'

**Okay, in this fic, Izumi is an Ocelot and Mika is a Bengal Tiger. Kisshu was a brown wolf. (actually, I'm not too sure about the last two... any brighter ideas?) **

**Please review!**


	3. Guardian

**Chapter 2**

**Guardian**

Izumi and Mika shuddered as the red ray of light passed over them, feeling their instincts scream at them to go, run, transform. Mika clenched her fists, knowing that through the city, five innocent girls – living normal lives, doing normal things – would be shaking and trembling, falling unconscious. They would awaken feeling fine, but the damage would be done. Their instincts would begin to kick in, their habits would change and their Mew marks would become apparent. And then, they would transform. There would be no going back.

The red light stopped, and Mika and Izumi looked at one another. "Well... I feel alright,' Izumi ventured, looking down and moving every part of her body experimentally.

Mika snorted. "Come off it, Iz," she said scornfully, "of course _we're _going to feel normal. It's the new Mews that I worry about."

"If you say so," she murmured, sitting back down on the sofa.

"I'm going to go get some coffee," Mika said, heading for kitchen. 'You want some?'

"I'm fine, thanks..." unconsciously, Izumi's hand reached down, touching the opal choker that she always wore around her throat. It was made from ancient gold, and the opal inside was a vibrant turquoise, unlike any jewel she had seen anywhere else.

Her grandmother had given it to her; it had been a present from _her _father – Izumi's great-grandfather - brought back from Brazil. He had found it in a cave, she said, along with a pile of gold and silver coins. The jewel alone must have been priceless, and he had taken it eagerly. He gave it to his daughter, and she treasured it above all else. But then, when Izumi was ten, her grandmother died, leaving Izumi the necklace in her will. Ever since then, Izumi had worn the opal as a memory of her grandmother. It had often got her into trouble at school and she had occasionally had problems with thieves on the streets, but she still determinedly wore it. But as a keepsake. Nothing more.

That is, until her cousin Ryou had begun his research.

For years, he had been working on a project, with his old friend, Keiichiro. When they weren't at their base, then Ryou, Keiichiro and Keiichiro's brother Kisshu had stayed with Izumi's family – Ryou's parents had been killed years before, and as their next of kin, Izumi's parents had adopted him. Her friend and neighbour, Mika, her and Kisshu had become firm friends, pulled together as playmates too often to ignore one another.

This continued until they were about thirteen, and then, one day, everything had changed. Instead of shifting the three of them to the side while they worked, Keiichiro and Ryou began to tell them all about the project – the ancient civilisation found by Ryou's father, the Cyniclons, and then... the idea of creating Mews. Young and eager to help, the three of them had immediately offered to be test subjects for Project Mew Mew, and in a matter of weeks, Mika, Kisshu and Izumi had become the first three Mews. They had each used something different to transform, and for Izumi, it had been her choker.

At first, it had all seemed like a game; changing into their forms, chasing and play-fighting, practising using their powers on dummies. But all too soon, things got ugly. Chimera animals began to appear from nowhere, attempting to destroy the Mews and threatening the base. The three teens fought them again and again, but it soon became apparent that this was a battle they could not win.

One day, the two men had come home to find the base in flames. An enormous chimera animal had hovered above it, throwing flames down into the ever-growing fire, with the sole intent of burning everything to the ground. Mika, Izumi and Kish had been inside. Using their Mew power, the two girls managed to get out, but by some stroke of awful bad luck, Kish had lost his transformer – a plain wooden bead necklace – somewhere in the inferno. With no opposition, the flames had quickly swallowed him up, and with him, the ability for the other two girls to function. They were unable to summon the necessary force without Kish, and anyway, Keiichiro had refused adamantly to let the two girls out into the field again, after what had happened to his brother. '_If we lost their lives too, I'd never forgive myself,' _he had said.

But was Kish really dead? Mika had claimed that, just before she had fallen unconscious, she had seen something fly into the flames and then disappear, carrying Kisshu. But though Mika had never once intentionally lied to her, Izumi found this hard to believe. _I would love to be able to, but it just isn't possible..._

***

...And yet, endless miles away, across light-years of space, Kish was alive.

In the freezing base on the Cyniclons planet, a green-haired alien clutched his chest and gasped in pain. Something was burning inside him, jarring his thoughts with some kind of instinctive nostalgia, an important energy, an answer just beyond his reach... he hunched over the table, panting and gasping, while his brother Pai stared at him curiously.

"What is wrong, Kish?" he inquired, eyeing his shaking form with dull alarm. "Are you feeling alright?"

"Y... no... just... I felt something very strange..." Kish straightened up, but the pain was still residing inside him, seeming to battle with his conscious mind.

"It's funny..." Pai mused, getting up from the table, 'Deep Blue-sama said he also felt 'very strange' today..." Just then, Pai stopped on his tracks, and his eyes widened in alarm.

_Of course... Kish would be able to tell, wouldn't he, if the Mews were coming back... he would feel the instincts!_

"Kisshu, I'm taking you to see Deep Blue-sama right now,' he grabbed Kish by the arm and jerked him upright.

"Hey, Pai! What the heck?!" Kish protested as his brother dragged him toward the room where he communicated with the Spirit. "You know that I don't trust Deep Bl-"

"Wait out here for a second!" Pai said quickly, and then entered the room, shutting the door behind him.

Kish leant up against the wall, fuming. _What is _with _him? _He wondered. _He hasn't shown this much of _any _emotion since Mum and Dad died..._

***

"Deep Blue-sama, I come with important news," Pai started, kneeling on the floor before the eerie blue light.

"Carry on, Pai," Came the voice, ready, as it always was now.

"My brother says he has been feeling strange; today, he was gasping for breath at breakfast, and when I asked, he answered the same way that you did. Deep Blue-sama, I suspect that it may be to do with his... Mew instincts."

There was a pause. "You mean to say, you think that the people of the Blue Planet have restarted their attempts to defend against us?"

"Yes, Deep Blue-sama." Pai bowed his head in respect.

"Send the boy in, and I shall speak to him myself. It may be that we will have to launch another attack on the Blue Planet soon... time is running out here, the conditions are only getting worse... yes, if what you say is true, another attempt at reclaiming the planet must be started. Thank you, Pai, for informing me about this."

"I am glad to have been of service,' Pai answered respectfully, and then left the room. To his relief, Kish was still waiting outside.

"Go in, Kisshu, Deep Blue-sama wishes to speak with you." Kish looked up, startled.

"Why?" he asked defensively. "I haven't done anything!"

"He'll tell you," Pai said. "Now go!"

Kish entered the room trepidatiously, closing the door behind him with reluctance.

Pai leant against the wall, and sighed. Ever since his parents – Kisshu's adopted parents – had died, four years ago, he had been left with the tedious job of looking after his kid brother. Though he had already been thirteen when he had left Earth, the surgery had taken several years off him, so now, he was only sixteen years old to Pai's twenty-five. Pai wondered what age his friends back on earth would be now – probably a little younger than him. If they met him now, they would probably never recognize him. He had certainly changed a lot in the surgery... the only thing that was the same afterwards was his eyes. A total transformation from Human into Cyniclon.

A few minutes later, the door burst open, and Kisshu appeared, looking more excited and elated than Pai had ever seen him.

"Deep Blue has given _me _a mission!" he began excitedly, the words tumbling out as fast as he could say them. "I have to go to the Blue Planet and try and destroy these beings called humans that live on it now – apparently they're slowly killing the whole thing, so I have to clear them off ASAP – and then take it over for _us _to live on! Just imagine, Pai-san! A planet, that we can inhabit, and live on in comfort..."

Pai cut him off. "When are you leaving?" he asked matter-of-factly.

Kish looked annoyed. "Tomorrow," he said blandly.

"Alright then," Pai said, "I'll help you to get the things you'll need." Pai felt a nagging sense of unease; was sending Kish, a former human, back to his home planet to destroy his species really going to work? It would be all too easy for him to become attached to a human, and then the whole mission could be jeopardized. Pai knew just how dangerous emotional attachment could be...

A flicker of pain ran through him as he thought of his parents. He was never going to let himself feel that strongly again. In the long run, it only resulted in hurt.

So for the last four years, he had tried his hardest to feel absolutely nothing.

Little did he guess how soon that was going to change...

***

Kish went to bed that night in a frenzy of excitement, his thoughts buzzing in his head with a relentless chatter. Everything was happening, coming suddenly together, and he was loving it. Finally, he would be able to do something for his suffering people, get the planet back for them, change the way they lived into something better. All he had to do was clear out the humans, and Deep Blue had said it would be easy. He must be right – the race was weak and undeveloped. How hard could it be?

_Those humans won't know what's hit them, _he thought in satisfaction, and then, he finally drifted into dreams.

_He was crying for his brother, the man who tried to reach him through the fire, tears running down his cheeks. _

_"Kisshu!" He heard his name being shouted, but try as he might, he could not answer. His beads were gone, they were gone..._

_ Two girls in glittering costumes flew over him, trying desperately to stop the flames, but they fell unconscious to the ground. A blond man gathered them up, and began to run with them away from the fire, calling out to the brother-who-wasn't-Pai, and with one last, despairing look, the man turned away and ran after his friend. _

_"Don't leave me!" Kish tried to call, but he could not. And then, from behind him, strong arms picked him up and flew with him, up into the air. Sure this must be the end, Kish looked his last on the world... and then his eyes fell on one of the girls._

_ He could tell he knew her, and she knew him, but try as he might, he could not name her face. Their eyes met, and she started with recognition, but then, she was gone, and he was floating, changing, through something cold... cold..._

_Now it was _always_ cold..._

***

Izumi walked through the trees in the park, feeling the energy course through her, admiring her necklace as the opal sparkled in the sun. She could feel her instincts growing ever stronger, but she didn't want to think about that. She reached the edge of the trees, and looked out over the grass, smiling at the sight of all the friends and couples spread out, enjoying the evening...

"What happened?! W- why is the sun going down already?" Izumi could nearly feel her ears twitch as she homed in on the sound. A second later, she realised with a shock that though the speaker was some twenty yards from her, she could hear every word. _Oh no... I've got my cat hearing back... thanks a lot, Ryou._

It was a red-headed girl talking, and she seemed to be with the black-haired boy next to her. He looked at her, surprised. 'Because it's almost seven o'clock.'

'Oh, of course it is...' the girl sounded flustered.

The boy handed her a juice, and the girl smiled. "So you've just been sitting here all this time?"

"It's been nice; watching the clouds, listening to you snore..."

Izumi gasped and turned around, clutching at her necklace in shock. _She's been ASLEEP?! For a long time? _

Just then, something sparkled in the corner of her eye, and she bit back a yell as she realised that they were sitting not a hundred yards from Cafe mew mew. So could...

Could this girl possibly be... the first of the Mews?

As she thought this, Izumi felt a tingling inside her. The girl was a Mew, she was sure of it! But what to do? Warn her in advance, or tell her the full story?...

But just then, the funny feeling she had had ever since the ray went off seemed to grow far stronger. Izumi looked down, and gasped as she saw her necklace light up, sending off rays of light that contrasted oddly with the sunset.

They swirled around her, and Izumi felt herself changing, the world growing brighter and brighter until it melded into pure white light... and then, with one last flash, Izumi seemed to be back to normal.

She opened one eye cautiously, and then the other. She must have fallen over, because her eyes were at ground level, and she could feel the grass beneath her. She twitched her tail experimentally, checking her balance...

Wait. **_TAIL?!_**

"Kyahhh!" Izumi gasped, but instead of her usual voice, a low hiss escaped her throat. Izumi looked down with growing alarm, and instead of feet, she saw two paws below her. She could feel her fur now, standing on end, and around her neck, her choker seemed to have turned into some sort of collar.

So much for the ray only affecting the new Mews – it seemed that she had been blessed with new powers as well.

The Ocelot Mew moved into the shadows of the trees, her spotted camouflage making her practically invisible to a passer-by. She sprung onto a branch, shook herself, and then stealthily followed the retreating couple, keeping an eye on the girl as she did so.

_I may not be able to actually fight the aliens, but I suppose I can keep an eye on those girls..._

Izumi smiled, and continued her path through the branches. _I suppose that, in my way, I'll be a sort of guardian._

The opal glowed brighter around her neck, as though agreeing with the idea.


	4. Changes

**Chapter 3 – Changes. **

'Kisshu?'

No answer.

'Kish!'

The younger alien just turned over in his sleep, mumbling a word: 'Mika.'

Pai stiffened at the sound of that name. Had the boy not forgotten it, even after all these years? The older alien felt a stir of unease; could sending Kisshu back to the planet where he had lived - and ordering him to kill the race he was once one of – really such a good idea? But with some difficulty, he pushed the feeling away, and then bent down to shake his younger brother awake.

'Kisshu, it is time for you to go.'

Kish groaned as he slowly entered consciousness, and then sat up. 'Today's the day, isn't it?' he asked eagerly.

'Yes,' Pai said. 'Everything you need is waiting for you outside, you can leave immediately.' Pai turned and walked from the room, leaving Kish to get up.

Kish got washed and dressed in record-breaking time, and then sprinted out to where his things were waiting. To his surprise, as well as Pai, his younger cousin Taruto was waiting for him.

'Good luck, Kish! Don't screw up!' he said teasingly.

'Thanks, Tart. Give my love to your mum and dad,' he turned to Pai, who was standing by impassively. 'What? No goodbye from my big brother?'

A flicker of some emotion crossed Pai's face, but he smoothed it away quickly. 'Goodbye and good luck, Kisshu,' he said simply, placing a hand on Kish's shoulder. Then he leaned closer and whispered in Kish's ear urgently. 'But please, whatever you may find on that planet... do not forget your mission... do not forget us.' Kish's eyes widened at the amount of feeling his brother had put into the words. _He must really mean whatever he was trying to say with that cryptic little piece of information. _

'Er, thanks, Pai. I won't.'

Pai smiled briefly. 'Try not to.'

And so, still puzzling over the meaning of Pai's words, Kish headed for his ship.

***

'You did WHAT?!' Mika spat out the juice she was drinking. Izumi dodged the spray with uncanny accuracy, then sighed as she realised that without her cat reflexes, she never would have been able to.

'You heard me; I transformed into an ocelot and then followed a girl who I thought might be a Mew home. And then, get this. This morning, on my way to work, I passed her school; and I heard two girls talking about Ichigo – that was her name – falling off her gym and landing on her feet. So, I think we've discovered a Mew.'

'I don't care if she started eating raw fish and coughing up fur-balls, it's you _turning into _an ocelot that I'm interested in!' Mika drummed her fingers furiously on the restaurant table. 'Do you think it's going to happen to me too? I'll tell you one thing for free: if I grow ears and tail while I'm at work, or turn into a tiger, or anything remotely inconvenient, those guys are going to pay!'

'I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, Mika,' Izumi said quietly. 'I turned back into a human as soon as I decided I was going to, and so far, my ears and tail have kept themselves under control.'

Mika looked up hopefully. 'So you mean... we can be Mews without all the inconvenience of last time? I wonder why that is...' she mused.

'No idea,' Izumi shrugged.

'It might be because we're older now – we have our emotions and so on under control, so our Mew powers have developed too!' Mika hypothesized, looking excited. 'If so, this totally rocks!' Mika gestured with her hand, the small ruby and platinum ring that she always wore flashing in the light. 'We can, like, turn into cool animals and Mews without any side-effects at all! We don't even have to risk our lives battling chimeras like last time,' she sighed happily and leant back in her chair. 'It's the best of both worlds, huh, Iz?'

Izumi bit her lip. 'uh, actually... I was going to suggest that we kind of help the new Mews... as, like, secret guardians...' she trailed off as she took in Mika's expression.

'_You _can if you want, Izumi, but I for one am staying completely out of Project Mew Mew this time around. It's not our problem, and I want to just continue my life as a normal person; no monsters, no inconvenient animal moments, no nothing. And if you're smart, you will too.' She rose and walked toward the door, indicating the subject was closed.

Izumi leant back in her chair and sighed. _Mika's right, we have no obligation to help Ryou and Keiichiro any more. But... I can't just let those girls risk their lives and fight aliens, and know I can help, without doing _something.

She stood up, and headed back to the office; her lunch break was nearly over, and she had a lot of work to do. Though Izumi knew that what Mika was saying was logical and probably wise, she just couldn't change her decision. She had been allowed to regain her powers for a reason, she was sure of it; it would be wrong to sit back and do nothing when she _could _help.

So she took out her mobile phone and called Ryou.

'Hello, Shirogane Ryou here,' came his voice formally from the phone.

Izumi held back a snort at her cousin's 'work' attitude. He took himself so seriously sometimes. 'Ryou-oniichan, it's me, no need to be so stiff!'

'Izumi!' His tone changed at once. 'Was there something you wanted?'

'Yes,' she replied. 'Has the Ichigo girl come to you yet?'

'No, but hopefully she will have by this evening,' Ryou sounded confident. 'Then we can open the cafe... wait, how do you know that that girl is a Mew?'

'Uh, because she was fell asleep in front of your cafe for about an hour yesterday,' she decided it would probably be best to leave out the whole changing-into-an-ocelot thing for now. 'I also found out that she fell on her feet from the top of a building today!'

'You must have been pretty much stalking her to find out so much. Izumi, why are you suddenly so interested in this project; I thought that you didn't want anything to do with it!' Ryou asked sceptically. 'I thought you and Mika were done with us.'

'Just because I don't want to fight aliens again doesn't mean I'm not curious!' Izumi retorted. _And I don't want to stand by while they get turned into chimera-food._ 'Those girls are doing what I used to do, and-'

'Are you on the phone, Ryou?' Izumi heard Keiichiro come into the room, and decided now would be a good time to end the conversation.

'It's Izumi,' Ryou told him. 'Do you want to speak to her?'

_No way! I'll faint if Keiichiro talks to me, I just know it! _'Uh, actually, I should be going, Ryou, good luck with the cafe, maybe I'll come one day when I'm not too busy, say-hi-to-Keiichiro-for-me-bye!' Izumi quickly snapped her phone shut before her cousin could reply, and smacked herself in the forehead. She felt like a little girl with a crush again. _How can he make me feel like this?! Pull yourself together, Izumi, you're meant to be an adult! _

Izumi stopped, took a nice deep breath, and then headed for her office, trying to clear her head of all alien, Mew or Keiichiro-related thoughts.

It wasn't really working, though.

***

'Izumi!'

Izumi's looked up, startled. 'Yes?'

Mika sighed. 'That was the third time I said your name. What on Earth were you thinking about so intently?' Without waiting for an answer, Mika ploughed on. 'Anyway, what I was going to say was, you know that you turned into an ocelot yesterday?'

'Yeah?'

'Well, today I held onto my ring, and though I could transform into my Mew, when I attempted to change into a tiger... I just couldn't!'

Izumi looked puzzled. 'It can't be to do with our team status; you were the leader, so you not being able to change just wouldn't make sense. Maybe it's something to do with our animals... the bigger the animal, the harder to change. I might ask Ryou about it... do some subtle information gathering. If only we still had Kish, we could see if he could transform.'

'You're right,' Izumi agreed, 'Seeing as there are only two of us now, we can't collect enough information to find out...'

'I wonder if Kish's wolf Mew is still working, even without his beads? Or has it been stamped out?'

'You talk about him like-' Izumi stopped abruptly.

'Like _what?' _Mika's voice took on a dangerous edge.

'Never mind,' Izumi sighed. I'm going out to get some air.'

Once Izumi had left the room, Mika sighed and buried her face in her hands. _Now not even Izumi truly believes that Kish is still alive, _she thought angrily. _Nobody trusts that what I saw all those years ago is real... do I even believe it anymore?_

No. Mika refused to give up on Kish, even if everybody else did. He was still alive somewhere, she knew it.

He had to be.


	5. Beads and Wolves

**Chapter 4: Beads and Wolves**

**Five weeks Later...**

There were four of them, now. The blue one with the bird wings, the original pink one, the little yellow girl and the shy green one.

And so far, they were doing great.

Truly Izumi was proud of them. They had fought off the chimera anima again and again, easily trumping the one young alien who had been set against them. Izumi wondered why on Earth they did not send down reinforcements; they were clearly needed. Maybe it was a test to see how well the young alien could do on his own.

She had taken to spending one or two lunchtimes a week at Cafe Mew Mew – as well as giving some of the best waffles she had ever tasted, it allowed her to keep an eye on the Mews when they weren't fighting. Occasionally, Mika joined her, but mostly she just sat at a table in the corner, working on her laptop and keeping half an eye out to see if anything was amiss.

'Uh, excuse me, can I take your order?' Izumi looked up to see the porpoise Mew – Lettuce, her name was – standing next to her, pen at the ready.

'Oh! Um, yes, of course, Lettuce.' The girl looked up, startled, and Izumi realised that she wasn't meant to know who this girl was.

'H- how do you know my name?' she asked curiously.

Izumi thought up an excuse quickly. 'Oh, I just heard one of the other waitresses – Ichigo, I think it was - call you it once, that's all,' she lied smoothly. 'I'd like the blueberry cheesecake today, please.'

'Oh right... um, Okay,' Lettuce said, quickly writing down the order. 'And anything to drink?'

'I'll have a latte.'

'Alright, it'll be here in just a minute.'

Lettuce turned and walked toward the kitchen, still wondering just how the woman knew all their names; and why did she seem so familiar? _She comes here every week; it's no surprise she's picked them up – and you've probably grown to recognize her, that's all, _her logical side pointed out. But Lettuce couldn't shake her gut feeling that there was more to that woman than met the eye...

'Here's the order from table 7, Akasaka; blueberry cheesecake and latte.' Lettuce turned to go, still pondering on the behaviour of her customer, but just then, Ryou called out to her.

'Lettuce, could you come here a minute?'

She quickly went over to Ryou, who was washing plates with Pudding. 'Yes?'

'Could you take this to Iz- er, the customer on table seven, please?' Ryou held up a string of plain wooden beads. 'I would do it myself, but I'm busy.'

Lettuce took the beads, frowning. 'Of course... do you know her, Ryou?'

Ryou smiled. 'You could say that,' he turned back to the sink without another word.

Just then, Pudding piped up. 'Is she your girlfriend, Ryou?'

Ryou made an audible gagging sound. 'Wha – NO! Ugh, of course not!' he shuddered.

'You should be honoured they think you're worthy, Ryou,' Keiichiro chuckled, and Ryou shot him a glare.

'You're not the one who's re-'

'Would someone mind telling me and Pudding what's going on?' Lettuce asked tentatively.

'_Yes, _actually, we would mind. Now Pudding, you have fifteen cups and saucers to clean, and if I'm not mistaken, Lettuce, you have tables to wait!' Ryou began to scrub plates with a vengeance, indicating that the subject was closed.

Keiichiro sighed, and passed Lettuce a tray full of orders. 'If you wait one minute, the latte will be done, and then you can give these out,' he said, snapping back into 'Brisk Chef' mode. 'Could you mention to customers that there's a date and walnut cake just out of the oven, and don't forget today's a special on fruit a la mode?'

Just then, the coffee machine clicked to show it was done. Keiichiro swiftly passed her the glass, and then Lettuce set off toward the dining room.

***

Izumi watched the green haired girl pass various foods to customers, and sighed. _They overwork those girls, _she thought worriedly. _Waiting a crowded cafe _and _saving the world? It seems a bit much. _

She turned back to her laptop, but rather than continuing her work, just stared blankly at the screen. The team were still not complete; Ryou had told her there were going to be five members in total. Maybe once all of them were working together, their work would be easier... she had always found she was stronger when she was united with Mika and Kisshu... _Kisshu..._

'You're order is here.'

Izumi came back to Earth with a jolt, to see Lettuce sliding a slice of cake and a cup onto her table.

'Arigato, Lettuce,' she said, smiling.

'You're welcome – Oh yeah!' the girl began to feel in her apron, 'Our boss, Shirogane, asked me to give you this. I don't know why...' she opened her hand to reveal a plain, slightly blackened, but completely recognizable string of beads.

Izumi gasped.

They were Kisshu's transforming beads.

How and when had Ryou found these? They had been lost for over five years, presumed to have burned away with the base. And now, after all this time... _what did this mean?_

Lettuce watched the woman's eyes widen, and she took the beads from her hand. Gently, as if afraid to break them, she examined the necklace, and then, she abruptly stood up.

'I would like to see Shirogane now, please,' without waiting for an answer, she stood and began to stalk in a feline manner toward the back of the cafe. Lettuce tailed after her in confusion.

***

Just as they were approaching the kitchen, Pudding left, humming and skipping in her usual energetic fashion. Then she noticed Izumi, and her eyes widened.

'Halt, na no da!' she said fiercely, clicking the way into the kitchen. 'Akasaka and Shirogane-san are very busy, they can have no distractions, na no da!'

'Sorry, Pudding, but it's urgent,' Izumi side-stepped her agilely and entered the kitchen, shutting the door behind her.

'What's happening? Pudding, how did that woman know your name?' Ichigo ran around the corner just as Izumi disappeared from sight.

'I don't know... who do you suppose she is?' Lettuce wondered.

'What is everyone talking about?' Mint said casually. 'I just came down here to say that there's a coffee and cheesecake getting cold at that table where the woman who looks like Shirogane always sits...'

'_Shirogane! _I knew she was reminding me of someone!' Lettuce said excitedly. 'Do you suppose they're related?'

'No wonder he sounded so upset when I said they were going out, na no da!' Pudding laughed.

'Well, there's only one thing for it,' Ichigo decided – and then bent down to listen at the door.

***

'First question, Ryou,' Izumi started bluntly, holding up the beads, 'where did you find these?'

'I went back to the ruins yesterday – I don't know why, something just drew me there. I was walking through the ashes, just kicking them up with my feet... when I dislodged something with my foot. I picked it up, and it was these beads.'

'Kisshu-kun,' Izumi murmured. 'After all this time, we have finally found his Mew transformer...'

'I know,' Keiichiro said gravely. 'And it though it had clearly been buried since the fire, our finding of the necklace may not have been an accident.'

'You mean... like, fate?' Izumi said quietly.

Keiichiro nodded, but Ryou looked sceptical. 'I think it was merely coincidence,' he snorted. 'There is no need for us to imagine things that aren't true.'

Keiichiro sighed quietly.

Izumi cleared her throat, and then stepped forward and put the beads carefully on the table. 'Thank you for letting me see these,' she said quietly.

Keiichiro shook his head. 'No, Izumi – they're yours and Mika's more than they are ours. Keep them.' He picked up the necklace and pressed it back into Izumi's hand.

Her heart beat faster at the contact, and she had to work hard to keep herself from blushing. _That ship has sailed, you don't love Keiichiro... or maybe you do, but he doesn't return the feelings. So it's pointless getting hot every time he touches you._

Ryou cleared his throat. 'Well, unless you'd like to stay and explain everything to the girls, it's time for you to leave.' Keiichiro shot him a look of annoyance, but he kept his face blank.

'You're right, I should go; I'm late for my afternoon work as it is,' Izumi decided, and then headed toward the door, pulled in open-

Only to have Ichigo, Mint, Lettuce and Pudding tumble into the room, from where they had been leaning against the door, spying.

Ryou stared at the heap of girls for a moment, and then walked out of the kitchen, commenting, 'It's lucky I thought to have sound-proof foam put installed in these doors.'

Keiichiro and Izumi looked at one another, shrugged, and followed him out.

* * *

Mika touched the beads carefully, her eyes wide.

'So... he said he found them in the ruins? Just lying there?'

'They were buried in the ash,' Izumi explained. 'He has a theory that because of the Mew energy that they still contain, they were unhurt by the flames.'

Mika lifted the beads up, and examined them more closely. 'I wonder if Kisshu could transform into a wolf, if he had these beads?'

'I doubt it,' Izumi said, shaking her head. 'I mean, you couldn't turn into a tiger with your ring, could you?'

Mika frowned. 'I wonder why only you can turn into your animal.'

Izumi shrugged. 'My pendant just glows blue, there's a flash of light and then I'm a cat. That's all there is to it.'

Mika snorted. 'Sure... all there is to it.'

Izumi got up and yawned. 'Eh, I'm tired. I'm going to go to bed.'

Mika sighed. 'I wish we could give Kisshu his necklace back... somehow.'

Izumi glanced back at her friend with sympathy. _I wish I had her faith. But it's been so many years, and... still no sign of Kish. What makes her think he's still out there... even after all of this?_

Sleep didn't come easily to Izumi that night.

* * *

The hairs on the back of her neck were standing straight up, and there was a strange feeling in her bones, a feeling that all was not well. Izumi sat up in bed, her heart beating fast. There was something wrong – she could feel it. Somewhere in the city, there was a threat. And she would have to go and find it.

Izumi swung herself out of bed, hissing slightly as she bashed her foot on the bedpost. Then she hopped onto the windowsill, braced herself, and threw herself into the darkness.

Her choker glowed comfortingly around her neck, and Izumi felt the familiar tingle of her transformation. She landed lightly on the pavement below, lifting her tail to keep her balance. Now a large, jewel-collared ocelot sat below their window, just out of the pool of light cast by the lamp post. Izumi twitched her whiskers, and then set off down the street, keeping to the shadows.

As she came to the river, Izumi heard the water shift. Looking down, she felt her fur stand on end; an enormous, fanged fish chimera was swimming below the surface. It silently swum to a low-set bridge, where a couple were talking and laughing.

'That was amazing, thank you.'

'They really know how to grill a fish at that place – wait. What was that?!'

The couple looked nervously down into the water, where the fish-monster was swimming to the surface, a primordial roar issuing from its throat.

Izumi began to run forward, transforming into her Mew form as she went, leaping over the ground to get to the bridge in time...

When suddenly, a ray of purple light shot out, curling around the chimera and extracting the parasite straight away. The couple screamed out, and Izumi stood rooted to the spot, transfixed. _What is happening? Who is causing that light?..._

And then, everything stopped. The fish dropped harmlessly back into the water, and the parasite flew off quickly. The quaking humans – and Izumi – gazed upwards at the silhouette that stood against the moon.

'You can stop trembling now,' she commented, her voice filled with cynicism that put Izumi's teeth on edge.

'Wait! You saved us! Stop!' But before the couple could do anything, the mysterious hero had taken off into the night. Izumi flung herself into her cat form, springing forward and setting off across the bridge after her, always keeping to the shadows.

The girl made her way swiftly along the streets, leaping from lamp post to lamp post, and Izumi followed after. A flash of bright light made both girls start, but when they turned around, they could see nothing. Izumi realised that she and the girl were both at the same game – but just why was this person prowling the streets, killing monsters?

And then, Izumi noticed the thing that she couldn't believe she had missed before. This was no ordinary girl – she had ears! And... a tail! The shape of them was somehow reminiscent of a wolf; wasn't that the final red data animal Ryou had used? So did this... could this mean...

Could this girl be the last Mew Mew?

'Grrrrsnrrl...'

Izumi pivoted on the spot, transforming back into a Mew as she did so. Behind her, a strange, bear-like chimera was standing, baring it's teeth and salivating. Out of the corner of her eye, Izumi saw the wolf-girl turn around too. Izumi moved so she was in front of the girl.

_Stand back; this time I will defeat the chimera._

Izumi berated herself; why was she competing against the girl? They were united toward a common goal, after all. Maybe it was something to do with the cat-and-dog genes...

'Izumi Vine-twist attack!' Izumi barely had to mutter the words for the dark, ropy vines to shoot from her fingers and knot around her opponent. Once securely tightened, they burst into flower, submerging the chimera and reducing it's size. It was wavering, nearly defeated, when from behind her, Izumi heard a shouted phrase.

'Ribbon, Zakuro Spear!' The girl held up a bejewelled purple cross, and the familiar tongue of purple light bound around the chimera too, tipping it over the edge into defeat. With a burst of light, the parasite separated from its host, floating off into the night.

Izumi reached up to grab the hovering ball of light, and ran over to a man who lay on the ground, near them. She watched as the spirit returned to his body; and then, looking at him properly, she gasped.

The man was wearing dark clothes, and in his hand, he held a large, professional-looking camera on one hand.

_The flash of light we saw earlier... that must have been him snapping some pictures of us!_

Just then, Izumi heard boots clacking toward her across the pavement, and stopping behind her. 'We don't have much time.'

The girl was right – already, the man was stirring, and unless they both wanted their names in the papers the next day, now would be the time to move away.

'Right,' she said, standing up. The two women quickly headed away toward the shadowy trees at the end of the bridge.

'Thanks,' both of the girls said at the same time, and then laughed awkwardly.

'Anytime. Uh, how long have you...?'

'Been like this? About five weeks.'

Izumi looked up, her guesses confirmed. This girl was a Mew Mew. But who was she? Something about her seemed rather familiar...

'Just so you know?'

Izumi looked up. 'Yes?'

'I work on my own. Sorry, but I don't think anything will change that.'

_This Mew's gonna be tricky, _Izumi thought, sighing. 'I didn't expect you to work with me – that was your own choice,' she said, turning away from the girl.

'That was...'

'Instinct?' Izumi suggested quietly.

The girl turned away with a quiet growl.

'I don't want you to work with _me,_' Izumi clarified. 'But... there are people who you are _meant _to work with.'

'Oh yeah?' the wolf-girl said sceptically. 'So why haven't they come and helped me defeat monsters every night?'

Izumi smiled. 'It's past their curfew,' she muttered.

'What was that?'

'Never mind. I expect you heard anyway with your wolf senses.' Izumi turned to go. 'But believe me, pretty soon, you _will _meet these people.' She twitched her ears, and began to run.

A second later, she felt a yank on her arm. 'Wait! What... what makes you so sure?' the girl asked suspiciously.

_Where does she get this confidence from? _Izumi wondered. _She has no idea who I am, but she is questioning me with all the brazenness of a celebrity! Which reminds me... why does she look so familiar?..._

Izumi looked at her hard, trying to identify the girl. Though her features were in total shadow, there was something in her tall, statuesque build that made Izumi sure she had seen her before. _Oh, well, it's late, _Izumi thought tiredly. _I'll think about it more in the morning. _

'I don't know. All the others have met up so far; why would you be different?' Izumi set off among the trees, shrinking back into her cat form as she went.

_Well, at least I put the idea into her head that team mates _are _there for her, _Izumi thought. _I wonder if she'll mention me, when she does eventually join the Mews?_

Unseen by Izumi or Zakuro, Kisshu glided silently above the trees, mulling over what he had heard. Who could this mysterious, older guardian of the Mews be? Did she have any companions, or was she acting alone?

And... why couldn't he shake this strange feeling that he'd met her before?

**A/N: Sorry, this chapter probably wasn't very good. I'm not even sure if it made sense! I hope you liked it though! XD**


	6. Interviews, Instincts & Identities

**Last Chapter: Izumi, the secret ex-mew guardian of the current Tokyo Mew Mew, had just encountered the mysterious wolf-girl – a girl who she thinks couldbe the last Mew. Kisshu is becoming more and more curious about both of these strange girls... and why can't he stop thinking that he's met Izumi before; could she be connected to the mysterious Mika in his dreams?  
And can he get to Zakuro before the Mews do?**

**This Chapter: Kish decides to find out a little more about Izumi by using his favourite method: stalking. Meanwhile, Mika has begun to be plagued by dreams of the boy who everybody else thinks died in the fire so many years ago. Izumi, on the other hand, is on to a hunch of who the girl she met the night before could be; and the four Mews we know and love skim through the daily news and come to their own conclusions about the mysterious super-hero. **

**A/N: Now, on with the chapter! XD**

**Chapter 5 – Interviews, Instincts and Identities**

_'Kisshu...' Mika smiled and walked toward her friend. 'I knew that you would come back.'_

_However, though she knew he must hear her voice, Kish did not turn. Her happiness fading, Mika moved a little closer to the boy, reaching out her hand toward his shoulder. 'K-kish? ...'_

_And then, so fast he became a blur, the boy turned to her – and immediately, she saw something was wrong. Mika gasped as she took in his clenched fists and burning golden eyes; eyes that even as she watched began to turn to lose their round, trustable shape and narrow like a cat's; his hair darkened, and took on an olive-green tinge, growing so it framed his face and brushed his shoulders; his skin lost its glowing, healthy tan and turned deathly pale. But most of all, Mika cried out in shock because from the side of his head, two long, elfin ears had appeared; the ears of a Cyniclon. Smiling wickedly, with glistening fangs and narrowed eyes, Kish stepped toward her, his long, white fingers locking around her wrists. _

_'Mika, isn't it?' he asked mockingly. His eyes narrowed. 'You're older than I expected.'_

_'K-kish? ...'_

_'You're a Mew... so I should kill you,' Kish smiled and produced two swords from nowhere._

_'What are you talking about?! You were a – you – Kish... whose side are you on?!' Mika couldn't understand. What was happening here?_

_'I am a Cyniclon. I must do my duty to the race I was born with,' Kish grinned and raised his sword. _

_'NO! Kisshu, you're a M-'_

'KYAAHHHHHHH!'

Mika woke with a start, to hear Izumi shrieking from the next room. A second later, she hopped into the room, one shoe on and searching frantically.

'Wassup?' Mika asked sleepily.

'There must've been a power-cut in the night, 'cause the clocks have all reset and so my alarm didn't go off! And now it's eight-fifteen! Have you seen my shoe?'

'WHAT?!' All thoughts of the dream pushed from her mind, Mika threw herself out of bed. 'Oh my God, I've got to _go, _I'm meant to be interviewing Fujiwara Zakuro at nine-thirty and-'

Izumi looked up sharply. '_Who_ did you say?'

'Fujiwara Zakuro. You know, the really tall model-singer-actress with the purple hair?'

'Zakuro...' Izumi mumbled to herself.

_The chimera was wavering, nearly defeated, when from behind her, Izumi heard a shouted phrase. _

_'Ribbon, Zakuro Spear!'_

_It can't be her - can it? The odds are enormous..._

'Is something up, Iz?' Izumi looked up, meeting Mika's curious gaze.

'Oh yeah... um, nothing,' Mika looked unconvinced. _How can I know whether that girl is the Mew or not? She's a celebrity, for goodness sake; how will I get close enough to be able to tell-_

Suddenly, Izumi was hit by a brainwave. 'Mika?'

'Yeah?'

'I have a light workload today – can I come to the studio with you?'

'Uh yeah... sure. Wait,' Mika looked suddenly wary. 'You're not, like, an enormous secret Fujiwara fan, are you?'

'No!' Izumi was shocked that Mika could think such a thing of her. 'I'm just curious, that's all.'

'Right.' Mika still looked puzzled.

Izumi sighed. 'If you must know... I think that she could be Mew Mew no. 5.'

Mika choked on her toast, crumbs spurting across the table. 'WHAT?!' she spluttered. 'Her, a MEW?!'

'I know it's not very likely, but I saw a wolf-girl when I was out in the streets last night-'

'Why were YOU out in the streets last night?!'

'I dunno, I just felt like something was wrong and my choker was glowing like crazy – so anyway, I was fighting a Chimera Anima that I found in the streets – I couldn't see any aliens around – and then this girl came out of nowhere and defeated it in one slash. That's why I didn't wake you up this morning, I was really tired and kept pressing the snooze button again – there wasn't actually a power-cut.' Izumi looked sheepish.

'But what this girl... her attack included the name 'Zakuro', and it was a purple whip thingy. If that wasn't enough coincidences, she was really tall _and_ she had a purple costume. _So.'_

Mika sat back in her chair, taking a long gulp of water. 'Okay, you can come. But don't come barging in in the middle of the interview, or ask any obvious questions like "have you ever imagined being able to grow a tail?" or anything like that, or I may have to kill you.'

Izumi grinned. 'Understood,' then she decided to change the subject. 'I had a really weird dream last night. It was about K-'

'NANI?!' Mika choked on her food for the second time that morning. Izumi reached over and thumped her on the back.

'As I was saying,' Izumi continued as Mika took another shaky sip of water, her eyes never leaving Izumi's face, 'I had a really bad dream about Keiichiro last night. He was being beaten up by some purple-haired alien, and though I kept trying to stop them, they kept pushing me back. They kept saying, 'stay out of this. This is a fight for a brother.' What the heck's _that _supposed to mean? And why were you choking, Mika?'

Mika glanced down, looking relieved. 'Nothing. I misheard you, that's all,' before Izumi could inquire further, Mika swallowed her last piece of toast and stood up. 'So, are we gonna go before we get any later?'

Izumi shrugged. 'Sure.'

* * *

It was an ordinary morning at Cafe Mew Mew; Ichigo and Pudding had arrived early, and so they were beginning to set out the utensils, arrange the displays and generally get the Cafe ready for the morning rush of customers. Ichigo hummed quietly as she worked, her mind straying from the task in hand and drifting toward Masaya, her boyfriend. She wondered what he was doing now; maybe he would call once she was done at the cafe-

'Guys!' The peace of the morning was shattered as Lettuce ran into the room, red in the face and clutching a newspaper.

'What's up?' Ichigo asked curiously, heading over to her. Usually Lettuce only got this flustered when Shirogane talked to her.

'_This _is what's up!' Lettuce set the newspaper down on a table and jabbed her finger at the front page.

Ichigo scanned up the page of headlines; _Baby left in car, Mysterious Wildcat loose in city... _Until her eyes alighted on a picture of a girl silhouetted against the moon... a girl with ears and a tail.

_Mystery Girl fights Monsters..._

'WHAT?!' she shrieked.

'Someone must have taken a picture of one of us!' Lettuce confirmed, wringing her hands. 'If someone finds out my secret identity, I'll get picked on again!' she fretted.

'Er, I think they'll be scared of you instead...' Ichigo put forward. 'But... what if it's me, and Aoyama-kun finds out?! He'll dump me for sure!'

Just then, Pudding, who had been silent throughout the whole conversation, spoke up. 'Don't worry, that girl isn't any of us... and I can prove it.'

Pudding proceeded to shock and humiliate the two girls by producing a picture of each of them, and depicting how none of them matched up against the silhouette in the Newspaper.

'So... who could it be?' Lettuce mused.

Suddenly, both girls gasped and turned to face each other. 'It couldn't be...'

'Could it?'

'The fifth Mew!' they chorused.

* * *

Zakuro hated being late. Especially in the mornings.

As she ran from the church to her waiting car, the celebrity cursed herself for being so devout that she would come to Church even though she was already running half an hour behind time. While she was about it, she cursed the fact that she was a celebrity and had an interview she had to be at, and of course, the reason that she was so tired from the night before that she had pressed the snooze button on her alarm _five times. _

Being a vigilante sucked.

But last night, after she had stumbled through the window, exhausted, at 3 am, she still hadn't been able to get to sleep. She hadn't been able to stop thinking about what that mysterious, cryptic cat-woman had said, and what it could mean... Zakuro was used to being the enigmatic one in a situation, the one who could see all the cards. When she wasn't, it bothered her.

Zakuro sighed and rubbed her forehead, removing the low-brimmed hat and long coat she had worn to avoid identification. It was one thing she liked about the dark; you didn't have to worry about anyone knowing who you were.

Of course, it had the downside of working the other way.

'Miss Fujiwara?' the driver said, slowing down. 'We're here.'

Zakuro stepped out of the car - thanking goodness that the street was practically deserted – and walked toward the plate-glass studio. Her high-heeled boots clacked against the pavement, kicking up little sprays of water in the puddles. She could hear the miniscule scrape of the shoes against the hard ground, and the occasional drips falling from trees reached her ears with crystal-clear detail. Ever since she had become a wolf, she had been able to sense so much _more._ She wondered at the tiniest smells, too – the fresh, post-rain scent of the leaves (it must have rained in the night after she finally went to sleep, then); the mingling tang of car-exhaust –

– and then, Zakuro's nose caught a smell that made her eyes widen, and stopped her in her tracks.

It was that bloody cat-girl.

What the heck was she doing _here?_

It was only the faintest wisp of a smell – and very well masked by perfume and clothing. It was almost irritatingly sweet, with just a hint of something that was so remarkably feline that it made Zakuro want to growl, but at the same time, induced something very close to a... _sisterly... _feeling?

_Okay, calm down, Zakuro, she could've just been passing here on her way to work, or her boyfriend might work here and have hugged her before he left, or- ugh!_

As she had walked through the revolving door of the building, she had caught another whiff of the cat-scent. Now that she had responded it so much, her wolf senses must be attuning to pick it up more. _Just great. _

Zakuro sucked in a deep breath, and headed toward the front desk. A woman in a suit immediately hurried forward.

'Fujiwara Zakuro-san!' she beamed. 'So glad you could make it – let me take your coat – if you'll just come through here...'

Zakuro plastered a smile onto her face and let herself be ushered into a dressing-room. It was open-plan, white and modern, and had a jug of water and a bowl of scarily-perfect fruit on a table in the centre.

'Feel free to eat anything. Now, if you'll just wait here, someone will come for you in about ten minutes.' Zakuro thanked her, and then the woman bowed her head and left.

The model flopped down onto the couch with a sigh, reaching forward and helping herself to a banana. It was always the same; arrive at the studio, be fawned over by some professional woman, sit in a beautiful, modern dressing room eating fruit for a while, and then get pulled in front of a camera and asked what books you would take to the moon.

The only change was what she was really thinking about while they asked the questions. It was barely ever to do with the interview, especially since she became a wolf-freak.

* * *

'How long until she comes on?' Izumi asked for the third time.

'I _told _you, Izumi; she's meant to be on in ten minutes, but everything's running a bit overtime because _someone,' _– pointed stare – 'overslept so the interviewer (namely me) was late. Oh, and also Zakuro was late too for some reason.'

'I'm not surprised,' Izumi muttered. 'If she was fighting monsters all of last night, then she'll be whacked. I know I am.'

Mika rolled her eyes. 'Assuming that she _is _the mysterious wolf-girl, of course. I just hope that she's awake enough to answer questions. Oh and Izumi, speaking of questions...'

Izumi yawned, then started. 'Huh – what?'

'...I've got one for you,' Mika finished. 'Have you seen this?' she thrust a newspaper into Izumi's hands – the same brand that Lettuce had shown the other Mews earlier that morning.

'"_Mystery Girl fights Monsters..." _could that be Zakuro, by any chance, Iz?'

Izumi's coffee sprayed everywhere. 'It was that photographer! He must've emailed that picture straight to the papers after he got home!'

'And that's not all...' Mika took the newspaper back and pointed at an article lower down. '"Mysterious wildcat loose in city";' she read out. 'So he snapped one of you, too!'

'Kyaaah!' Yet again, the ground about them was spattered with coffee. People were beginning to glance at them. 'How the – what a disaster!' And sure enough, there was a picture of the Izumi-Ocelot, opal collar and all.

'_...it is thought to have escaped from a wealthy individual's personal zoo, due to the luxurious collar... it appeared late at night, and is reported to have been sighted stalking the vigilante in the article above... a search has been called to find the beast, after it attacked a civilian, causing him to lose consciousness..._ this is crazy!_' _Izumi sighed.

'_Did _you attack a civilian?' Mika asked quietly.

'Yes, Mika; I, superhero, who give up my beauty sleep to fight warped creatures of doom, attacked some random guy unprovoked,' Izumi said sarcastically. 'Of course not – an alien did, and then stole his spirit for a chimera!'

'So you must've missed discovering the alien pretty narrowly, then,' Mika mused.

'Yeah. I hope that the alien didn't discover _me-' _Izumi stopped talking abruptly.

A woman had just appeared at Mika's elbow. 'Fujiwara Zakuro is ready for the interview. Shall I bring her in?' she glanced curiously at Izumi, but said nothing.

'Yes,' Mika returned shortly. 'About time, too,' she muttered under her breath, and then said in a loud voice, 'Okay, people! Last-minute sound checks, I want my earpiece a bit quieter, make sure the light on Fujiwara-san isn't too bright...' Mika walked off, yelling instructions left, right and centre.

Izumi sighed, and then turned around to wait for Zakuro.

_Right. This is the moment of truth. _

* * *

Zakuro followed another besuited person along the corridor to the studio, her feet carrying her along while her mind lingered elsewhere. The scent she had caught before, far from fading, seemed to be growing fresher with every step she took. Supposing that she had been wrong? Supposing the cat-girl was here; what would she do? Or what if an alien attacked them? Or-

And then, they had entered the room.

Zakuro was hit by a wall of sound and smell, almost knocking her backwards with the intensity. She walked slowly through the room, her ears twitching this way and that, and her attention torn between a thousand different places at once. A crowd of people also descended on her, fitting an earpiece to her head, checking the reception of some gadget or other, holding a torch against her skin to check the light...

But suddenly, past all the chaos, Zakuro's nose located that smell – and it was stronger than ever. Her instincts locked onto the scent, and she impulsively moved forward, her body carrying her toward it...

She looked up, and her eyes met a pair of curious, expectant and curiously feline brown ones. The owner of the eyes proceeded to look her up and down, and then nodded with confirmation.

So this woman was one step ahead of her. She had already been waiting for her here.

_How?_

Zakuro opened her mouth, though she was unsure of what she would say, but only to be silenced by a look from the older woman. It was a look that plainly said, 'not now, not here'. And for some reason, Zakuro decided to take heed from this woman, and hold her tongue.

The young woman nodded, and then tilted her head toward the stage. Zakuro realised with a start that the whole room was waiting for her to begin her interview.

She also realised angrily that while she was still in the dark as to even the name of the cat-woman, the other woman would be able know everything about her. Her age, her height, her likes and dislikes. Because everybody knew who Fujiwara Zakuro was. Once you'd been recognised, that was it.

_Being a celebrity sucks _nearly _as much as being a vigilante. _

* * *

As soon as the interview was over, Izumi cornered Mika and tugged her away from the rest of the room. Mika looked at her expectantly.

'So, what's the verdict, Izumi?' she said, more loudly than Izumi would have liked. The cat-girl winced.

'It's her alright,' she muttered out of the side of her mouth. 'I remember the smell.'

Mika gasped quietly. 'I can't believe the last Mew is a celebrity!' she exclaimed.

'Sshhh, she'll hear you!' Izumi hissed. 'She's recognised me as it is. Pray God she doesn't tell all the other Mews about me when she joins.'

'_If _she joins the Mews,' Mika corrected her.

'She _will _join, I'm positive,' Izumi said confidently.

_We'll see about that, _Zakuro thought, listening across the room to their conversation (her wolf instincts allowed her to hear from quite a distance). She had no idea who 'The Mews' were, but they sounded lame. What was it that woman - Izumi - had said? _It's past their curfew_? Just kids, then.

'I'd better be going,' Izumi was saying to her companion now, pulling away. 'I've missed enough of work as it is.'

'I thought you had a light workload?' the other woman – her interviewer, Mika - said sceptically.

'Not really – I just said that so you'd let me come. One has to make sacrifices for the Earth's future, even if it means trouble with one's boss,' Izumi turned to leave.

'I can't believe that you are letting this happen _again,' _Mika said to her back. 'You're under no obligation to help them this time round – you could just leave them to it like me – but instead you go risking your life, night after night! Why?'

'Why indeed,' Izumi murmured. 'I'm not so sure myself, seeing as even the Mews seem reluctant to give their best now. You still got those beads safe?'

_Beads? _Zakuro thought, mystified.

'I keep them with me all the time,' Mika assured her. 'Now go!'

And then Izumi was gone, pacing from the room without even another look at Zakuro.

The wolf-girl's brain was buzzing with the meanings that the two women's words could hold. _The way they were talking, it made it sound like this isn't the first time this has happened... but what would that make them? Like, pre-Mews or something? And it was totally unfair that last comment that the cat-girl made. I mean, just 'cause I won't join up with some kid-team she says I'm reluctant! I mean, I _do _give my best... don't I? _

For the first time, a seed of doubt began to grow in Zakuro's mind. What if she was seriously letting down this team by not joining them? Supposing they really needed her, yet she stayed on her own? In that case, was she really doing the best she could do?

Zakuro shook her head violently. _I don't join groups. Nothing is going to change that._

* * *

Kish floated lazily over the city, blinking slightly as light reflected off the shining metal and glass of the buildings, dazzling him and leaving spots dancing in front of his eyes. He knew he really had more urgent things to be doing, like battling the Mews, or watching Ichigo, or creating new chimera animas, but it was nice to just relax for a little while...

Speaking of chimeras, that reminded him of another thing he had meant to do. Track down that pesky cat-girl who had helped decimate his last few monsters. He'd already worked out that the wolf-girl, Zakuro, was another Mew, and on following her, who she really was. He had developed diabolical plan to deal with the anti-social, solitary wolf-mutant – but this woman was something different. He had no idea who she was, and she had none of the same weaknesses as Zakuro.

Unlike the wolf-girl, who was a loner by choice, she seemed to be all for joining teams, just not accepted in any; and much less likely to join the Cyniclons than Zakuro. So therefore, she was a much more formidable threat to Kish than even Zakuro was. With her, there was no option of her joining him; it was either beat her, or nothing. And to be able to take her down, he would have to know her weaknesses.

That was his excuse, anyway. But there was something more...

It was that mysterious feeling that he had met this woman before. He could not shake the instinct that she was somehow connected to the girl in his dreams, Mika; the girl whose name he woke up screaming every night. Could she be the other girl he had glimpsed a few times in his imaginings? The team mate of this mysterious Mika? That would make her his enemy... so how come he dreamt of her, and thought of her, as a friend?

Kish shook his head, pushing the many questions to the back of his mind. Right now, what he wanted to do was see if he could find the cat-girl in her human form, and then get onto the business of defeating her. Heck, maybe he could get some answers while he was about it.

Kish smiled, and flew down to begin searching.

He was in luck. Only fifteen minutes later, the young Cyniclon was flying along a street near an enormous, plate-glass studio, when he heard a snatch of voice that sounded familiar.

Kish's bat-like ears pricked up, homing in on the sound. He glided silently along a street and across an intersection, the voice getting closer and clearer all the time.

'I'm sorry, there was something I had to do... yes, I'm heading over right now... my apologies... what time are they arriving? ...' she was talking urgently into a mobile phone, and walking briskly along the empty, puddle-dotted streets as though in a hurry. Kish wondered vaguely what she had been doing, and then flew closer to her, confirming that this young woman was, in fact, the one.

She had large, brown eyes and brownish-blonde hair, and was wearing a blue and white suit. He would have said that she was about twenty, and there was something familiar about her face – it reminded him a bit of the blond man who directed the Mews, and also it stirred some kind of memories inside him. Around her neck she wore a large, opal choker that flashed in the late morning sun.

'...I'll be over in a minute, bye,' she flipped her phone shut and began to walk faster. Kish flew behind her in the shadows, keeping up easily. The girl stepped down a narrow alley, taking some short-cut or other, and suddenly, out of the sun, both of them noticed the girl's choker glowing in the shadows.

Izumi looked down and gasped quietly. _It's glowing brightly; there must be an alien near here! _She tensed and looked around warily, her hand at her throat, prepared for an attack.

Kish hissed quietly as he realised his cover had been blown. Knowing he had lost the element of total surprise, he braced himself for a hard fight. Sure, she was just one Mew, but he had seen what she was capable of. Kish quietly held out his hands, each of his dragon swords materialising from a glow of yellow light. The girl's eyes narrowed, and she glanced left and right, her eyes flickering across the shadows as she turned slowly on the spot.

Kish fought the urge to laugh as a pair of spotted ears and a tail appeared, barely acknowledged by the girl, and began to twitch. Collecting himself, the alien took a deep breath, and then shot, swords ready, from the shadows.

Izumi's ears caught a rustle from her left, and she pivoted only just in time to dodge Kish's lunge, her tail brushing against the blade as it passed. A growl rising in her throat, she leapt into the air, narrowly missing another swipe from the swords, and alighted on the ground a few metres away. Kish groaned as he realised that it was going to come to a full-out battle; he wished he'd thought to bring some infusers. _Dammit, if only I'd been a bit quicker with the swords! _

Quickly touching her hand to the opal at her throat, Izumi shouted her transformation. 'Mew Mew Izumi, METAMORPHO-SIS!'

She sighed in relief as she felt her dark gold, tutu-like costume swirl snugly into place. A tingling warmth began at her feet as her sensible, black work shoes were replaced by golden gladiator sandals that coiled to her knees. The opal and gold cuffs appeared in a burst of light at each wrist, and she smiled as she felt an exotic pink flower burst into bloom in her hair. Finally, a glittering swirl of rainbow sparkles twisted around her, settling in her costume and hair. The transformation complete, Izumi grinned and struck a pose.

'So, your name's Izumi, huh?' she heard a sarcastic voice behind her, and whirled around. A dark-green-haired alien floated, half in shadow, and his face wore a dark smile. 'You say you're a Mew, but where's your pendant? And why haven't you joined up with all your other chums? Aren't you a little old to be a Mew Mew, anyway?'

Izumi felt a tingling sensation spread through her as she looked at the boy, and heard his voice. Though she thought she could safely say she had never seen this boy before, she couldn't shake the nagging feeling that she knew him; and what was more, that fighting him would be wrong. _Stop this now, Izumi! He's a _Cyniclon_, for goodness' sake!_

She shifted into a defensive stance and shifted so that her back was facing the wall, her now-gold eyes watchful. She was like a tightly coiled spring, waiting to react as soon as he made a move.

But the alien didn't seem to want to attack just yet, and it occurred to her that he was waiting for her to speak. 'It's rude not to answer people's questions, you know, _Izumi_,' he continued mockingly. But behind it, Izumi thought she could hear genuine puzzlement and curiosity, and, right at the back of his eyes, Izumi noticed something that made her instincts scream at her, '_Don't fight him!' _Could this boy be feeling the same thing as she was?

'I will answer your questions if I choose to,' Izumi said coolly. 'Yes, I am a Mew, but I don't use a pendant. I have no desire to join the Mew team directly, and yes, my name is Izumi. As for everything else...' she looked the boy up and down, trying to place his face, his manner... 'It's really none of your business. You have no reason to know – why did you try and attack me, anyway? Who are you?'

'"I will answer your questions if I choose to",' Kish imitated her tone, 'and currently, I don't choose. Happy?'

Bizarrely, Izumi had to fight the urge to giggle. 'Of course not. Why would I be? I've just been ambushed by an enemy, who's proceeded to imitate me and extort information about myself... have we met before? You seem familiar...' she had no idea why she felt so at ease with this Cyniclon, but she did.

_She feels it too? _Kish thought. It could just be Déjà Vu, but now he had talked to this woman, the last thing he wanted was to kill her. And it seemed she felt the same way... _No! She's the ENEMY! GET REAL, KISH!_

To attempt to rid his mind of these ridiculous thoughts, Kish lunged forward with his swords. Izumi arrow-sprung backwards, snarling.

'It could just be wishful thinking on your part; anybody would wanna meet me,' he smirked, folding his arms. Izumi's eyes narrowed, but she noticed that he hadn't denied the connection. Then she squawked indignantly as she realised what he had said.

'What the _heck... _You insufferable little twerp! I'm OLDER than you, for crying out loud! You're only, like, thirteen?'

To her satisfaction, Kish bristled. 'Sixteen, actually.'

'Same thing when you get to my age. You're like...my brother, or something.' _That's how I always used to see Kish... as my brother. I was always an only child, so he and Mika were like my adopted brothers and sisters. I think that Mika might have seen him as something more, on her part... maybe that's why she still finds it so hard to come to terms with his death._

Kish's mind was in turmoil. _Brother?! Did she just call me brother? I'll 'brother' her... _but somehow, that definition seemed _right. _Inside him, deeply-buried instincts were rising inside him, urging him to protect this girl... like she was his sister...

_Right. This is stopping NOW. _

'Well, then, I think this calls for a bit of sibling rivalry, Izumi-"oneesama".' He lifted his fingers and made air-quotes around the word. 'I'll try and make this quick and painless, but if you won't cooperate, so be it.' Kish grinned, exposing his fangs, and then lunged forward with his swords.

_No! _Izumi's mind seemed to shake with distress. She didn't want to attack this boy, she _couldn't _attack him! She leapt backward out of the way of the razor-sharp swords, but couldn't summon the will to counter-attack. _I seem to feel for him like I would feel for Mika. It's so _wrong _to be fighting _against _this boy... but why? What is _with _these instincts! _Izumi rolled clumsily away from him again, and this time his sword stabbed into her skirt, tearing the material.

'Why won't you fight me back, Izumi? What's wrong?' Kish goaded, but she could see reluctance in his eyes. He didn't want to fight her either, but he was.

Well, two could play at that game.

'I don't want to battle, as-yet-unnamed alien, but you give be no choice,' Izumi held her hands out in front of her, and with a burst of rainbow sparks and a golden glow, a roughly hewn wooden spear appeared. Grasping it with both hands, Izumi leapt to the side, narrowly missing another swipe from the Cyniclon.

'Izumi vine-twist ATTACK!' she yelled, thrusting the spear toward him. The green vines shot toward the alien, winding around his limbs and bursting into flower. Seeing him totally trussed up in the flowering plants, with only his ears showing, Izumi had to laugh. _That'll hold him for a while. _

But though Izumi had temporarily subdued him, she knew the vines wouldn't hold long. They faded away naturally after a short time as it was, and with the struggle the Cyniclon was putting up, he would be out again in minutes. So Izumi flipped her phone open and hit the speed dial.

'Moshi-moshi, Zukiaro Mika here,' came her friend's cheery voice.

'I'm being attacked by an alien! I've managed to tie him up with my vine-attack, but he's wriggling like crazy and I need reinforcements if I'm gonna win this fight. Meet me at the short-cut I always take – you know, the one just past the intersection – in five, okay? And transform!'

Izumi noticed the alien's ears twitching, and wondered if he could hear her from this far away. _So what if he can? There's nothing he can do about it._

'You know I hate to get involved in this Mew stuff, but seeing as it's a life-or-death situation, I'll do it.'

'Thanks, M-'

But she had already disconnected.

Izumi glanced apprehensively at the wriggling bunch of vines – vines that were growing weaker every moment. She hoped they would hold until Mika arrived, at least... but just then, an arm holding a lethal-looking sword reached through the vines and began slashing at them. Within seconds, the alien was out.

Izumi dodged backwards, leaping into the air and lunging out with her spear. But this time, Kish was ready. _I'm not gonna fall for that one again, _he grinned, reaching forward and swiping his dragon sword forward through the spear, cutting it cleanly in two. A few seconds later, the wood grafted itself together again, leaping back to Izumi's hand; but it gave Kish the opportunity he needed.

He lunged forward and pinned Izumi to the wall at the side of the alley, crossing his dragon swords and holding them millimetres away from her throat; just above the choker.

'Where's your backup now?' he taunted.

But to his surprise, when Izumi spoke, she sounded quite calm. 'Running as fast as they can to where I am, I suppose. By the way, why were you trying to kill me in the first place? I mean, I don't see you committing attempted murder on Zakuro, and she's done just as much as me.'

Kish was irritated at the way she phrased her question – she was making it sound like he wasn't trying to kill her _now_. Which he was. However, he hid it well, and began to answer her question.

'I'm only telling you this 'cause you're about to die anyway, so you won't be able to do anything about it. Think of it this way: I have hope that, because Zakuro's so antisocial and all-'

'You know who she is?' Izumi asked, sounding shaken.

'I did a bit of detective work this morning. But anyway. I'm hoping that she'll turn to our side if I can make her think it'll benefit her more; if you'd been the same kind of person as her, I would've done it on you, too. But I heard your conversation the other night, and from what I've seen of you so far, you don't seem very likely to switch sides.' Kish shrugged. 'You should be honoured that I think so highly of your loyalty.'

Izumi snorted.

Suddenly Kish was struck with a sudden hope. 'Unless...you'll join the Cyniclons? You'd be a great ally, and I frankly think it's a shame you have to be killed.'

'So you don't want to kill me?' Izumi asked. _He has this instinctual feeling too, I know it now. _

Kish waited a moment, unsure whether to answer or not. 'No,' he said shortly. 'But we're getting off the point. You're gonna die if you don't take this one chance, Izumi. Will you join the Cyniclons?'

'Sure.'

Kish couldn't believe his ears. '_Really?_'

'NO!'

And then, in spite of himself, Kish laughed.

'Oh well, you give me no choice but to kill you, then. Goodbye, Izumi.' Kish drew in a deep breath, and began to try and summon the will to plunge his swords into her neck. _Come on, Kish, do it on three. _

_One._

_Two._

_Thr-_

'Izumi!' A distant voice echoed toward them, and running footsteps echoed toward them across the air.

'Dammit,' Kish hissed. 'That sounds like your backup arriving.'

'Told you.' Izumi sounded smug. 'You won't be able to win against both of us, you know.'

'Huh,' Kish said angrily. 'Listen, this isn't the last you'll see of me. I didn't today, but sometime I will kill you – unless you join me.'

'Or you join me,' Izumi said. 'One or the other. But boy,' she began to speak urgently, 'I don't think that we will be able to kill each other.'

Kish glared. The footsteps and calls grew ever louder.

'I don't know why, but this fight felt wrong. I felt the way I would feel if I was trying-'

The alien boy teleported away.

'...to kill Mika,' she said into the empty air.

Just then, the girl in question panted into the alley. 'Alright then, Cyniclon,' she hollered. 'Prepare to –' Then, she stopped and looked around in puzzlement. 'Izumi, where's the alien?'

'He teleported just before you arrived. Sorry,' Izumi explained lamely.

Mika's face ranged through a sea of expressions, finally settling on "irritated". 'So you mean to say you called me out of work, transformed me into my Mew, set my nerves on edge and called me here all for nothing?'

'Pretty much,' Izumi said sheepishly. 'He heard you coming, and then he transported into thin air. I think he was scared of facing two of us.'

Mika decided to focus her annoyance on the unnamed Cyniclon instead. 'Annoying, incompetent coward. He should face the music he created.' She stood there for a second, breathing heavily, and then turned to face Izumi.

'What did he look like?' she asked interestedly.

'He had greenish-black hair, gold eyes, and he was really pale like all of them are...' Izumi trailed off as she saw her friend turn paler than the alien had been.

'Is anything up, Mika?' she asked anxiously.

Mika shook her head. 'Nothing, I just... once had a nightmare about an alien like that.' She quickly changed the subject. 'Shouldn't you be getting to work?'

Izumi looked at her watch and slapped herself on the forehead. 'NYAAAH! My boss is gonna kill me!' she shrieked, running off in the direction of her work. 'Gotta-run-sorry-thanks-Mika!' she called back over her shoulder.

Mika waited until she was out of sight, and then leant against the wall, trembling. She pulled out the string of blackened beads that she always kept around her neck, and stared at them blankly. _Could that alien... have something to do with Kish? _

* * *

Kish flopped into the floor of his fourth-dimensional base, burying his head in his hands. Why hadn't he been able to fight that woman? Though she had been several years older than him, in that encounter they had felt the same age, equal and right_. _Yes. That was the word. It had felt _right _to be talking to that girl as a friend, and a peer; and indescribably wrong to be fighting her. Kish shuddered and scowled as he thought back to those awful last moments, when he had been counting down in his head to the moment when he killed her...

To be totally honest, even if there hadn't been a diversion, he would never have been able to kill her. Something deep inside wouldn't let him; it would be truly like killing a sister. Or like killing Pai.

Or, whoever she was, Mika.

**A/N: So, did you like it? I hope so! XD The fight scene was a bit rushed, and yet again, the plot was far too complicated... sorry...**

**For the record: In this fic, Pai is 25, Keiichiro is 25/6, Ryou is 22 (I know it doesn't fit in with the Manga, but leave it, he seems that age to me), and Mika and Izumi are 20. Kish should have been 20, but after the surgery took 4 years off his physical age, he is 16. Okay? Good! =)**

**Please review!**

**Izzy **


	7. Coffee

**Chapter 6 – Coffee**

**Last Chapter: After discovering the true identity of Zakuro, Izumi had a close shave with Kisshu (but she didn't know that was who he was); both of them had the disconcerting instinct that their fighting was wrong, which made the battle a lot more interesting. Mika just missed meeting Kisshu, and from Izumi's description, she related him to the alien she had met in her dream... could this boy have anything to do with Kish? **

**This Chapter: Mika turns down a date and reminisces about Kisshu, while Izumi has another scary encounter – this time with her boss, a middle-aged lady with a maternal complex. Then she decides to pay Café Mew Mew another visit...**

After slipping back into her work after the ridiculous non-battle, Mika went straight to the studio cafe and ordered herself a cappuccino. She sat down at a table, sipping it slowly, enjoying the frothy texture and bittersweet taste. Well, enjoying it as much as she could whilst her mind was taken up with uncomfortable thoughts about dream-aliens, and fights, and her best friend, and celebrity wolf-girls... and the fact that Izumi was helping the Mews and she wasn't.

Mika sighed and ran her hands through her hair, closing her eyes and slumping back in her seat. While sprinting halfway across town, transformed into her Mew, to the aid of her best friend, she had suffered from a serious attack of conscience. Her best friend was risking her neck every day fighting aliens without the tiniest bit of appreciation, while she just sat in her studio living a normal life?

_It just doesn't seem right, _she thought to herself. But what were the alternatives? Return to Keiichiro and Ryou no baka and go along with their crazy, risky plans? The only other alternative was Izumi's 'secret guardian' approach; which while being most definitely a morally correct option, was – let's face it – practically self-harm. Besides, unlike Izumi, her leader, Mika didn't feel any instinct to actually fight – only to protect her friend. She hadn't wanted to fight since the disappearance of... Kisshu...

Mika winced even as she though his name, the loss cutting through her as if it were only yesterday. She cursed herself for being so weak – _Izumi can carry on with her life, and fight, though he's gone! So why can't I?_ But Izumi had only ever loved Kish as a brother – Mika had harboured – still harboured – a feeling much deeper...

The Tiger Mew took another shuddering sip of coffee, her vision fragmenting and dissolving as memories sprang to the surface of her mind.

_She and Izumi were sharing a cappuccino they had bought, passing it from hand to hand, while Kish looked on morosely. _

'_Come on, guys, let me have some!' he whined, doing his world-famous puppy eyes. Having the DNA of a wolf sometimes worked to his advantage. _

'_We already gave you half the foam from off the top!' Mika protested mid-slurp._

'_Besides, we paid for it,' Izumi added. 'You spent all your money on that ridiculous coin-slide game, even though I _warned _you...'_

'_Yeah yeah, play the old record again, "Oneesama",' Kish drawled, lifting his fingers in quotes. '"Kish, don't be so irresponsible"-'_

'_Well, if you don't want to be lectured, don't complain!' Mika cut him off, punching him playfully on the shoulder. But while she was distracted, Kisshu quickly reached forward and grabbed the cappuccino from her other hand, taking an enormous gulp. _

'_KISH!' Izumi shrieked, lunging for the cappuccino as he lowered it triumphantly from his mouth. 'Mika, help me-'_

_But Mika was laughing too hard. 'Look at his face!'_

_Izumi looked, and started to laugh, too. _

'_Nani? What?' Kish was perplexed. _

'_You have the biggest foam moustache in the universe, Kish!' Izumi hiccupped, wiping the tears from her eyes. 'We ought to take a picture...'_

But that picture had been lost in the fire that destroyed the base, along with nearly all the other photographs of the three of them together. Mika only had a few left, mostly sub-standard ones taken in photo booths or with instamatic cameras. In fact... that reminded her.

Mika fished in her bag, then came up with a small picture in a frame. It was her, Izumi and Kish in the centre, taken in a photo booth the day they went shopping for Halloween costumes.

_They had been walking away from the shopping centre for about ten minutes, Kish leading the way, but they still hadn't reached the station. _

'_So, you're sure that you know your way back from the train station from here?' Izumi had asked dubiously. _

'_Relax, Iz-oneechan, I know this place like the back of my hand,' Kish replied easily – surreptitiously checking his hand. _

'_I'm freezing,' Mika shivered, her teeth chattering in the chilly October wind. 'I wish I'd brought a coat.'_

'_We'll warm you up, Mika-chan,' Kish said kindly, wrapping an arm around her waist. Mika's heart sped up, causing Izumi, with her keen hearing, to smirk broadly and hug Mika from the other side. _

'_Are you sure you're sure you know where we're going?' Izumi asked again._

'_Yeeess,' Kish said uncertainly. _

_Mika snorted. 'Well, I'm not. I'm going to ask for directions.' Without further ado, Mika detached herself from the others and marched over to a group of men who were skulking in a street corner, Izumi following her._

'_Excuse me, Mister, could you tell me how to get to – YeAARGH!' _

_One of the men, on seeing Izumi's rich choker, had made a lunge at her. With a yell, Izumi launched herself backwards, cart-wheeling over to Kish, who leapt forward and grabbed Mika, snarling at the men. _

_Izumi took over the role of leader. 'Everybody RUN!' _

_So they did, panting and stumbling and tripping over things in the dark, down through countless alleys and side-roads until they were quite sure they'd lost the men. _

_Eventually, they stopped under the orange light of a lamppost. All three teens' ears and tails had appeared from the excitement, and so they stood there, gasping for breath and laughing shakily, for at least ten minutes while they calmed down. _

'_Sorry, you guys,' Izumi apologized a minute later. 'I just sorta... panicked, you know? I've had trouble with my choker before I got my Mew powers, so it was just reflexive fear.'_

'_I should never have gone over to them in the first place,' Mika added. 'that's why Izumi-oneechan got into trouble.' _

'_I could smell alcohol on them,' Kish put forward, 'that's why I didn't go over.' His wolf ears and tail vanished, one part at a time._

'_Oh well,' Izumi said cheerily, pulling in her own ears, 'at least we got one good thing from that fiasco.'_

'_And what might that be?'_

_Izumi gestured over his shoulder. 'There's the station! We're not lost anymore!'_

'_I told you I knew where we were going,' Kish said smugly. _

_Izumi and Mika glanced at each-other and started laughing._

Mika smiled in spite of herself at the memory, drained the last dregs of her coffee and set the cup down on the table. She got to her feet, picking up her bag where she had left it, and headed back to her office. She had work to do.

'Tszukiko-san?'

Mika turned around with a start, to see a reporter she knew – Hirotaki Ara, his name was – hurrying down the corridor behind her. He had jet-black hair and sea-green eyes, and reminded her strongly of the guy who played Aragorn in the _Lord of the Rings _film. Their teams had worked together on a story a few weeks ago... she recalled that two girls from her team talking about him – one of them liked him.

'Moshi-moshi, Hirotaki-san,' she greeted him politely. 'Are you well?'

'Hai. Tszukiko-san...'

'Call me Mika,' she said impatiently – her second name always irritated her when used in conversation. But she regretted saying it a second later.

Looking heartened, he started again. 'Mika-san... are you free this evening? Because I was wondering if you wanted to come and have a drink with me.'

_Oh, cripes. I can't go out with another guy! _

Mika braced herself, and then started to speak. 'Gomen nasai, Hirotaki-san, but I'm afraid that I can't do that. I'm busy this evening, and besides, I'm really not looking for a relationship at this time,' she watched his face fall slightly, feeling awful. 'But maybe another day, we could go out in a group... as friends?' she added.

He half-smiled. 'Sure, maybe. Sorry to hold you up.' He turned and went back down the corridor, leaving Mika to flounder in her own guilt and self-anger.

_WHY the HECK did I turn him down like that?! It was just a date, and whether I like it or not, my life needs to continue. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna be _betraying_ anyone..._

_Kish..._

That was the problem. She wasn't over Kisshu.

She would never be over Kisshu, as long as she believed he was alive.

* * *

It was half-past five, andIzumi had just about finished her work. She logged off her computer, then leant back in her chair and stretched, flexing her fingers and yawning. She just had to take some files to her boss's office, and then she'd be done.

The Ocelot Mew gathered the folders into her arms, and set off down the corridor. Finding the office door open, she walked in, set down the folders carefully on the table, and was about to walk out again when she heard a voice.

'Izumi-san?'

She groaned inwardly as she recognized it to be her boss – a middle-aged lady who thought she knew everything about her employers. Sure, she was kind and fairly easygoing, but... still.

Izumi looked around to see where the voice was coming from, to see her boss turn around in her chair – freaking Izumi out, as she had presumed the office was empty – in the manner of Darth Vader. Or something.

'Hai. Here are your files,' Izumi gestured awkwardly to the stack of folders.

'Arigato... but I would like to talk to you, Izumi-san. Take a seat.' This whole thing of calling her by her first name – it kind of made Izumi feel uncomfortable. Nevertheless, she sat down.

'Izumi,' said her boss, with an expression of motherly concern. 'I'm worried about you. You seem awfully distracted these days, half the time you come into work looking exhausted; and today you arrived so late and looking like you'd seen a ghost!' _Well, that's close enough to the truth – I saw an alien. _

Izumi clasped her hands in front of her, and smiled awkwardly. 'Uh... "distracted these days"? You think so? It's really nothing.' Unsurprisingly, her boss didn't look convinced.

_Aaagh, supposing she's all-seeing, like Yoda?! And she like knows everything already, and she's just waiting for me to confess or... SHUT UP, BRAIN!_

'Come now, dear, you don't have to keep it all inside. Once you've seen as much of the world as I have, you won't be shocked by ...'

_On and on and ON she goes. Tchah - "as much of the world as I have" – she's only, what, forty... But wait – supposing she's really, like, a hundred or something, but she's had loads of plastic surgery so she looks younger. What the heck?! I'm just freaking myself out now. Can I go home yet?..._

'...so if there's anything you want to talk about, anything at all, you can tell me,' she finished. She peered at her employee, waiting for her to speak. 'Izumi?'

Izumi jumped. 'Oh! Seriously, you needn't worry about me. I'll be fine, but I had really better be going so that I can catch my, uh, train! Arigato, bye-bye!'

Izumi walked very fast backwards out of the office, then turned around and hared down the corridor, praying her boss wouldn't follow her. Still, that conversation had been useful in one way: it had made it clear that she really needed to pull herself together and become less obviously distracted, or people would get curious – heck, they were already! The last thing she needed was someone finding out her secret; the many consequences made her shudder just thinking about them. She could see why Mika refused to fight; her secret vocation was undoubtedly taking over her life.

Mika's words in the studio echoed through her head unexpectedly. _'You're under no obligation to help them this time round – you could just leave them to it like me – but instead you go risking your life, night after night! Why?'_

When she thought about it, that was a very good question. The first four Mews were doing perfectly fine, and Zakuro currently had it covered at nights - Izumi might not like it, but the wolf-girl was definitely competent – so between them, they pretty much had it covered. Plus, helping really did not benefit her at all, and she got zero thanks for it from anybody.

So. Why?

Izumi was suddenly acutely aware of the choker around her neck. She recalled how it always glowed when there was danger, and when she was changing into an Ocelot... It was giving her special powers and warnings now, and she felt that stopping being a Mew would be wrong. It was still a part of her life. _Mika's transforming ring doesn't do this, and she's fine with giving up the game – so why me? Does my choker have some special power her ring doesn't...?_

Or was Mika just so determined not to fight that nothing would make her?

Izumi opened the door out of the building and stood for a moment in the cool breeze, her hair blowing about her face. She knew that Mika wanted to live a normal person's life, with no interruptions from her Mew past. That was the reason that she had told Izumi was why she didn't fight. That, and because after everything that had happened to all of them, she was a firm believer that war was wrong.

But there was something more too; Izumi could tell. Could it be that even after all these years, Mika was still unable to fight... because of what had happened with Kisshu? Izumi knew her friend still refused to believe that he had died; it was possible that she wasn't able to move on and fight for the cause, even after all these years. And if that was the case, would Mika _ever _be able to carry on her life...?

All these questions were too much for one lone person to handle by themselves; Izumi was definitely going to crack under the pressure unless she did _something. _

She hesitated, and then set off in the direction of the park.

* * *

'Aaaand... three hot chocolates, a strawberry cheesecake, a slice of chocolate fudge cake and a small portion of fruit a la mode, na no da!' Pudding squealed, running into the kitchen with a set of orders.

Keiichiro picked up the piece of paper. 'Okay, thanks, Pudding. Now can you start drying the coffee cups and the forks; they're beside Ryou on the counter.'

'Right, no da!'

Ichigo and Lettuce spun to and from the kitchens, continuing their conversation about the upcoming talent show (Ryou's idea was that if they auditioned, they might be able to get close enough to Fujiwara to tell if she was a Mew) each time they passed each other.

'I'm going to be doing my gym recital... with the ribbons, you know? The one that I did the day we got attacked by that seal chimera... can I take your order?'

'Two coffees, Shirogane-san...' – blush – 'I decided to change from 'That was Me and You' to 'Halo' by Beyoncé... it's only just in my range at the lowest points, but if we're auditioning for such a big show it needs to be quite impressive... yes, of course, I'll bring it in a moment – I still can't believe I'm doing this! I'll screw up, I'm nervous just thinking about it!'

'You'll be fine; Mint's the one I'm worried about. She might swoon on seeing Zakuro-san in person. She's doing her ballet recital, so no worries talent-wise for her... Whoa.'

Ichigo stood in shock, staring; Retasu hesitated, a tray of drinks balanced on her hand; Mint looked up from her cup of tea; Pudding came out of the kitchen (at a seriously unsafe speed, considering the amount of china in the vicinity) and stopped short.

Hair slightly tossed by the light wind, brown eyes defensively casual. Opal choker at her throat. The three Mews stared as the girl-who-was-related-to-Ryou came through the doorway into the cafe.

Izumi watched all four Mews look up to stare at her, and resisted in the urge to slam her face into the palm of her hand. After the scene she had made last time she was there, it was no wonder they were so curious. She stepped forward, and they seemed to move closer together. She felt a flicker of irritation – why on earth were they scared of her?

She could think of a few answers to that question: She had known all their names, practically passed out at the sight of a handful of beads, stormed into the kitchen of the cafe and appeared to know their bosses (who were – let's face it – not that sociable) very well indeed. Not to mention the fact that their instincts were probably screaming all sorts of confusing messages at them. She wouldn't be surprised if they had even noticed the slight (but humiliating (to Izumi, at least) resemblance between her and Ryou – particularly the blue one, with her bird-like eyesight.

So, this would probably be pretty awkward.

_Well, when life gives you lemons, make lemonade, I always say. _Maybe if she told the Mews just enough to satisfy their curiosity, she would be able to find out more about what Ryou and Keiichiro were making them do. That wasn't why she was here today, though...

Izumi stepped toward Ichigo, the leader, and held out a hand. 'Gomen, I don't think I introduced myself to you last time I was here. I'm Shirogane Izumi, Ryou's cousin. He's told me all about you girls.'

All four of them looked surprised, but after a moment, Ichigo collected herself and returned Izumi's gesture.

'P-pleased to meet you,' she managed, while Mint rolled her eyes behind her. 'I'm Mommiyama Ichigo, and these are my –' she was on the verge of saying "teammates", but then thought better of it ' – er, friends: Minto, Retasu and Pudding. Ryou never told us he had a cousin,' she added, by way of an explanation.

Izumi decided to have some fun, and put on a crestfallen expression. 'He never told you about me?' she said, letting disappointment at her cousin's thoughtlessness saturate her voice.

All four of them shook their heads.

'Ah well, it's probably just his antisocial complex coming through again,' Izumi sighed theatrically. 'It's a pity he didn't; it would've cleared a lot up.'

Ichigo looked sympathetic. 'He never bothers to explain anything like that,' she said comfortingly, exchanging a look of deep understanding with Izumi. All four of them looked far more at ease now.

'But anyway,' Izumi continued, getting to the subject. 'Could I please see Akasaka-san? Or perhaps Shirogane-san,' she added as an afterthought.

The Mews looked surprised; they must have been wondering what Ryou's cousin wanted with Keiichiro in particular.

'He's in the kitchen, cooking; he might be able to stop for a little while though, Izumi-san,' Retasu said, ever-shy.

'Why do you want to see Akasaka-oniichan, Izumi-oneechan, na no da?' she asked curiously. The three others shot her reproving glances, but she paid them no heed.

_Um, let's see: because I have a best friend who is traumatized, even after over five years, by project Mew Mew; I have started turning into a cat and my choker glows whenever an alien is there; I secretly have a crush on Keiichiro – WAIT, NO! I'M NOT GOING TO TELL HIM ABOUT __**THAT **__PROBLEM IN A MILLION YEARS! – moving swiftly on, the aforementioned friend is still in denial that Keiichiro's brother died in a fire, and is refusing to help me fight chimeras; a certain wolf-mew who you want to join has severe social problems and a phobia of groups; oh, and let's not forget that I'm secretly turning into a Mew and looking after all of you in my spare time, and Zakuro knows who I am, and I nearly got killed by a freaky green-haired alien who I felt an instinct to protect earlier today... wait, this is just turning into a list of my problems. I'm not going to tell Keiichiro half this stuff... Am I...?_

Izumi finished her little mental rant to find that the Mews were still waiting for an answer. 'Oh...! I'm cooking a meal for my friend's birthday next week, and I thought he might be able to give me a few good tips.' _Cripes, I am such a liar. _

'You came to the right place, Izumi-oneechan!' Pudding said happily, taking Izumi's hand and dragging her toward the kitchen. 'Akasaka-oniichan makes the best cakes in the world!'

'It's true,' said Mint serenely, following behind.

'Shirogane!' Ichigo called loudly as they entered the kitchen. Ryou looked up from whatever he was doing on his laptop (it looked suspiciously like Tetris), and did a double-take as he saw his cousin surrounded by the Mews. 'Izumi-san is here – you know, the cousin it always slipped your mind to tell us about?'

'Hi there, Ryou,' Izumi said in innocent tones.

'Izumi?' he said incredulously. 'What are you –'

'I came here to ask Keiichiro about some, uh...' Izumi paused for a moment to recall her cover story, 'oh yeah! Recipes; it's my friend's birthday next week and I want to make a special dinner.'

Ryou looked sceptical. 'It's not Mika's birthday 'till November, Izumi.'

_MUST he make everything so difficult?! _'Mika isn't the _only_ friend I have, you know, Ryou,' she said in a voice that wasn't too far away from a feral snarl.

'Who's Mika?' Pudding asked.

'No-one,' Ryou said quickly, shooting Izumi a "good-you-didn't-tell-them-keep-it-up" look. 'Akasaka's just down in the basement, Izumi, I'll go get him for you.'

'No, no, I'll go myself,' Izumi said, and to the Mew's surprise, Ryou didn't stop her.

'You can take this coffee down to him while you're at it,' he said, filling two mugs with the steaming brown liquid and passing them to her. 'They're black; hope you don't mind.'

Izumi smiled. 'Not at all.' She deftly took the mugs from him, and set off toward the stairs.

Once she had disappeared from view, Ichigo turned to Ryou. 'Shiro-baka! All our secret Mew plans and stuff are down there!'

Ryou turned away, avoiding her eyes. 'Keiichiro can distract her, and it all just looks like random data on screens, anyway. Besides, I have better things to do than being messenger-boy; as do you...' Ryou glanced meaningfully at the trays and orders lined up on the counter.

'Yes, Shirogane-san!' Minto, Ichigo and Pudding turned grudgingly back to their tasks.

'_Why _didn't you tell us about Izumi-san?' Lettuce asked Ryou timidly, once the others had gone.

He looked uneasy. 'Like Ichigo said: it slipped my mind.'

* * *

Izumi made her way down the basement steps and opened the first door she came to. She could hear the steady thrum of many computers, their dozens of luminous screens and blinking lights filling the room with a dim, blueish-white glow.

She spotted Keiichiro immediately, typing at one of the computers, his pale face lit up by the screen. He hadn't even glanced up when the door opened, so absorbed was he in his work. Izumi shut the door quietly and walked across the room toward him.

'You know, it isn't healthy to stare at a screen for so long,' she commented, and he jumped, turning to face her.

'Izumi? You startled me!' he chuckled, turning back to the screen.

Izumi laughed softly. 'Sorry, I should have made myself known. Here's some coffee.'

'Thanks,' Keiichiro took the mug from her and took a gulp, then set it down with a sigh.

Izumi pulled up another chair and peered over his shoulder at the screen. 'What're you doing?'

'I'm trying to hack into the Cyniclons' base system; you know, look at their plans, find out more about their background, and that sort of thing.'

'Sounds like hard work,' she commented, staring at the many tiny numbers on the computer. _He's so clever; they just look like a jumble to me. _

Keiichiro smiled. 'Tedious, but relatively straightforward once you've got the hang of it,' Izumi realised that they had slipped seamlessly into conversation, as if there were nothing strange at all about her suddenly turning up to their top-secret base; it could have been five years ago. She half-expected Kish to come barging into the room, begging his brother to stop working and play basketball with him.

But it didn't last much longer. After typing for a few seconds in comfortable silence, Keiichiro turned suddenly to face her, frowning. It brought his face only a few inches from hers, and she shuffled back in surprise.

'One minute, Izumi. Why _are _you here?'

She grinned. 'You only just thought of that?'

'Well, yeah.'

Izumi sighed, collecting her thoughts. It always disconcerted her a bit, being with Keiichiro one-on-one, though they got on very well. Aside from the obvious (she went red if he so much as brushed her, and in private it was even worse), Keiichiro's attitude always changed so drastically. When he was there was anyone else there, Keiichiro acted cool, charming and eloquent, but now he was just, well... normal, really. He didn't feel the need to pretend, and the idea that he trusted her like that made her warm inside.

'Well... I came to talk to you about something.' She took a sip of coffee.

'Is this to do with you getting your powers back?' he asked. 'Because Ryou and I already tried to reverse it for you two girls, but we can't do anything about it. Sorry.'

'Well, partly, but not mostly. You might be interested to know that I've started turning into an Ocelot too, now?'

Keiichiro's eyes widened. 'Do you have control over it?'

'Yeah; I think about it, and then my choker sort of glows and I transform. The same thing happens when I turn back. It's not really an issue, but I thought you might want to know.'

'Want to know, indeed,' Keiichiro murmured. Then he suddenly shifted back toward the desk, turning away from Izumi and burying his face in his hands.

'You don't know how much I regret this,' he said in muffled tones. He looked and sounded so weary that it was all Izumi could do to resist hugging him.

'What do you regret?' she asked quietly. She didn't quite dare to put a hand on his shoulder, but she rested one on the back of his chair, hoping it might somehow comfort him.

Keiichiro turned to her again, his face pale even past the harsh lighting. 'A lot of things: Making the Mews in the first place; somehow developing the formula so that you were affected this time round; getting so many innocent people involved in this against their will; doing the project all over again... even after what happened to Kish.'

'You don't regret those things; well, not most of them. They had to be done.'

Keiichiro sighed. 'But why did they have to be done by _me_?'

Izumi smiled wryly. 'Well, I can't think of many people who would be better at saving the world than you.'

Keiichiro didn't seem to have heard her. He sat silent for a moment, and then began to speak slowly. 'Ryou... doesn't seem to worry about it at all. He would gladly protect any of them from any danger; even sacrifice himself... but he doesn't seem to feel any guilt about condemning people to this life. I mean, even after what happened last time – and you being his _cousin _– he doesn't seem to find anything wrong with it.'

'But it's different – Kish was your brother, and he died. I mean, I'm still alive; and Ryou and I were never as close as you two.'

'That's true,' Keiichiro said, but his voice still had the same heaviness. His face twisted up into a sad half-smile. 'So you don't believe what Mika says about Kisshu anymore?'

Izumi was taken aback. 'Well...' she had nearly forgotten the reason she had come here. '...that's actually what I mainly wanted to talk to you about, Akasaka-san. Mika.'

'What about her?'

Izumi took a deep breath. 'Just this: It's been more than five years now. We've grown up; we know a lot more, and our powers of reason have matured with us. But she still clings to her theory... what she thinks she saw... and frankly, it makes me worried. I don't think she can move on.'

Keiichiro sighed. 'You know, I only recently stopped believing Mika myself. Before that, I still felt desperate for a chance; something to prove it might not be the end. If Mika really did see a figure fly into the fire, and come out again with Kisshu, I was ready to believe it. But like you said, reason came over it in the end. A combination of that and time. But she still believes what she saw; it is a part of who she is, now.'

Izumi nodded in agreement. 'I don't think she _can _accept that he's gone; that's what worries me. Kish was a dear friend to me – a brother in some ways – but I think she felt more than that. I'm not sure just what kind of love, but it was very deep. I wish that I could make it easier for her somehow, but I just cannot empathize on such a level,' she hadn't quite put this thought into words before: the idea that she wasn't feeling – had never felt – the pain that Mika endured every day. She was only just beginning to see that.

Keiichiro's eyes were kind. 'None of us can. He was a brother to me and you, but we can't understand how it was for Mika. We must do what we can to make it easier for her, though.' He reached forward and took Izumi's hand – her heart sped up, thumping in her ears until she thought she would explode. She was suddenly glad that Keiichiro had no extra animal senses.

'I'm sorry I've been so little help in that area,' he went on, 'me and Ryou both owe you an apology... we owe you far more than that, to repay what you did for us.' He squeezed her hand, and Izumi realised that she had leant in toward him.

'...we might have decided to spend our lives sitting at computer screens, directing you girls in saving the world... but you didn't have much of a choice.'

She was only a few inches away from him... she had never been this close to Keiichiro before...

'And still, even with that, you, and they, fight for us; for the world. You have no idea how much I admire you for that.'

_If I moved my head slightly this way, we'd be kissing..._

'A - arigato,' Izumi heard her voice shatter the moment, stuttering but persistent, and pulled back from Keiichiro. She felt as though she had just broken out of a dream; giddy and confused, and unsure what to do next. She automatically reached for her coffee, taking a shaky sip.

'Izumi, are you alright?' he sounded slightly anxious, and Izumi wondered whether she looked how she felt; flustered, dizzy and oxygen-deprived.

'I'm... fine...' she managed, leaning back in her chair and shutting her eyes. She cradled her coffee against her chest, and waited until her brain and body had recovered. _What a _stupid _response that was. _

After a few moments Izumi regained her wits, and then set the mug down on the table and stood up. 'Keiichiro, I'm sorry to have bothered you with my problems. I'd best be going now.'

Keiichiro got to his feet too, draining the last of his coffee. 'No, I'm glad you told me. If you're sure you want to leave so soon, I'll see you out,' he picked up her mug from the table, as well. They ascended the basement steps in silence, Izumi's heart returning to normal just as they walked into the kitchen.

'Ryou, can you wash these?' Keiichiro called. 'Izumi is leaving now, and we finished our coffee.'

Ryou appeared out of the recesses of the kitchen and took the mugs. 'So, did you manage to get some good cooking tips, Izumi?' he asked cordially.

_Oh heck, my cover story!_

'Wha... er, _yeah_! Keiichiro gave me some really good, simple recipes to work with; there was an especially good one for this, erm... flan, wasn't there, Keiichiro?' she said, turning to him and shooting him a desperate, "please-just-play-along-_don't_-ask-for-the-love-of-Pete" glance.

Keiichiro was silent for a moment, and then, to her immense relief, he cottoned on. 'Ah yes! The mixed red fruits flan; it's always a favourite at parties, and really quite simple to make. You see, first you – '

'Excellent, excellent,' Ryou said hastily, before Keiichiro could launch into a lecture on how to make a mixed red fruits flan (whatever that might be). 'Keiichiro, why don't you show Izumi-san out?'

'Of course,' Keiichiro took Izumi's elbow and steered her out of the kitchens to the front of the shop. Then he turned to her and asked: 'Why was Ryou going on about recipes?'

Izumi hesitated, and then spoke. 'To cut a long story short, I didn't want to share my problems with him. He just would get it.'

Keiichiro nodded. 'I understand.'

'At least one of us does.'

Keiichiro laughed, and then gestured toward the door. 'Far be it from me to sound like I wanted you gone, but I have work to do.'

Izumi nodded, trying not to mind. 'Codes to decipher, systems to hack into, that sort of thing.'

'Exactly. Well, I hope to see you again soon, Izumi-san.' He really sounded like he meant it.

'You too, Akasaka-san. Bye-Bye.'

'Goodbye,' he said quietly, and gave such a sweet smile that Izumi could again barely resist hugging him. Her insides seemed to have turned into candyfloss, and she wouldn't have been surprised if a rainbow had appeared in the sky outside.

Izumi stepped out onto the pavement; it was lightly drizzling. _Ah well, _she thought, _I can dream. Even though I know Akasaka-san sees me only as a friend, I can still take pleasure in his smiles. _

But she still kicked herself for pulling away back in the basement.

* * *

**A/N: Didja like it? Didja like it? I did! XD**

**Please please please please please please review, everybody! I have cleared up all inconsistencies in various earlier chapters, so I'm gonna repost the story with all the modifications made. **

**Two little things:  
1. I use 'these' marks around speech instead of "these" ones. It's what I do; I think it's an English thing. I looked in loads of books on my shelf, and they all had them like that, so no nagging, please! Cheers. =D  
2. Ryou is 22/3. Don't ask; it's just the age I see him. :P**

**Sorry there was less Kish in this chapter! **

**Izzy**


	8. Backup, anyone?

**Chapter 6 – Backup, anyone?**

**Several Weeks Later...**

Kish was in a bad mood.

There were a lot of reasons for this; any one of them would be enough to put someone in a grouchy state, but ALL OF THEM TOGETHER? Where was the justice in this universe?

He would make a list of his problems, he decided, and then at least he could be bad-mooded in an orderly way. His brother would be sure to approve.

Number one: That purple Mew had joined the rest of the team, despite his best efforts. He had tried as hard as he could to turn them against each other – and yet, by some terrible coincidence of misunderstanding combined with a giant snake chimera and an alternate dimension, they had ended up working together against him! Kish could barely believe the injustice of it all. Sure, he had tried to kill them, insulted them, and created a giant monster in their presence, but that was no reason to – whatever. So, basically, his plans had screwed up, and he was in disgrace with Deep Blue. AGAIN.

Number two: Ichigo wouldn't join him. Now, where was the logic in that?! He had threatened, asked her nicely, even told her she was _important... _But all she did was knee him in the stomach and ruin his plans. Maybe it would've been better if he hadn't pinned her to the ground and blackmailed her, and using the word "toy" in the same breath might not have been the best idea. Admittedly, he could have been smoother. But having a way around girls had never been in the job description.

And most irritating of all, Number three: Every night at around two, he woke up screaming 'Mika!'. EVERY. FLIPPING. NIGHT. The other cat-girl he'd fought a few weeks ago had started popping up in his dreams too, unconscious over his brother-that-wasn't-Pai's shoulder, leaving him in the flames to endure that last tear-streaked glimpse of Mika (for that was who she must be – her face and name were the two most real things in the dream), and the all-engulfing cold.

_WHY?_

Actually, that was a very good question, once he'd asked it. Why did he always dream about her? What part of his thoughts was it that was coming back, again and again, to this one human girl? And most of all... did she really exist, somewhere out there?

Thus Kish's thoughts were absorbed as he sat on top of a power-station roof in the late evening. So absorbed, in fact, that he didn't notice them until Taruto called his name.

'Hey, Kisshu!'

_This cannot be happening...!_

Kish swung round to see that it indeed was happening. His cousin and brother were on the rim of one of the cooling towers, staring down at him with derision.

'Taruto! Pai!?' This could mean only one thing: Deep Blue thought that he was doing so badly in this mission that he had sent replacements. This day just got better and better.

They both ignored his shout, and turned around. 'Let's go get those Mews, Pai,' said Tart, his eyes sparkling with confidence and excitement.

'What about me? I have my pride too, you know!' Kish burst out angrily.

His brother spoke for the first time, looking down at him coldly. 'Pride only gets in the way,' he said emotionlessly. He paused, and then spoke again. 'You're immature.'

And with that, they were gone.

Kisshu stood there, his eye twitching dangerously, shocked, indignant, furious and more than a little hurt. They hadn't even waited for him! They had treated him like nothing! And his own brother, Pai, had barely spared him a glance. Had he really sunk that low?

Number four: He had been deemed so incompetent on this mission that he was being replaced; plus, his brother was giving him the _total _cold shoulder. He would be returned to his planet in disgrace most likely, and he'd never hear the end of it from Taruto... could his life get any better?

Kish was in a _very _bad mood.

* * *

Izumi was walking through the Somida-ku area of Tokyo, looking in the windows of stores. Though it was Sunday and most of the shops were shut, their displays still glittered, each perfectly arranged to capture a passer-by's attention. It made Izumi feel somehow happy to see so much beautiful, new produce, set up to look so attractive. Being a magazine editor, she took pleasure in good advertising.

Smiling to herself, she strode down a street, heading toward her favourite shop in this part of town: a large art store that she went to for any supplies she might need in her own amateur work. The owners of the shop decorated their windows with displays of pristine materials and works of art donated by artists who patronized this store. She was only a few steps away, now... maybe they'd have got some new pieces this week...

Just then, an easel smashed through the glass window directly in front of her nose.

_I know that artists can be temperamental_, but...

And then, past the noise of the glass clattering to the floor and the clunk of wood falling, she heard a roar; unmistakeably that of a chimera. Her choker was glowing a bright, sky blue.

_Typical. Just typical._

'Mew Mew Izumi, Metamorphosis!' she said wearily, touching her left hand to the choker at her throat. Her costume swirled into place, and she vaulted through the smashed window and into the shop.

The monster loomed at her almost straightaway, lunging at her with a predictable attack. It was some sort of bizarre cat, clearly based on the body of some poor mangy tom off the street. She grabbed hold of its tail, swung herself around and started her comeback.

'Izumi Vine-twist ATTACK!' She lunged her spear forward and the familiar dark foliage shot around the chimera, the pink flowers engulfing it almost immediately. It disappeared in a burst of golden glitter.

Izumi leapt backward, dusting off her hands. _That was pretty easy... and why is he attacking an _Art Shop?_ Either it's a decoy, or-_

Her ears twitched, and she leapt out of the way just in time to avoid a punch to the neck from that familiar green-haired alien. _But why not try to stab me...?_

_-or the kid isn't trying too hard today. _

'So it's _you _again!' she commented, swinging herself out of the way to avoid another half-hearted punch. 'Not that I'm surprised, but... What the heck were you hoping to gain by destroying an _Art Shop_?'

The green-haired alien flew toward her, fangs bared in annoyance. 'Any havoc is good havoc,' he replied petulantly, swinging a foot in her direction, which she dodged. 'Besides, what're _you_ doing here, Onee-baka, ruining my fun?'

'Onee-baka? That's a new one.'

'You didn't answer my question.'

'Well, if you're going to create chaos for no reason, it's my duty as a Mew to clear it up,' Izumi replied reasonably. 'Did you really think I'd just let you get away with it...? Especially as this is my favourite art store,' Izumi put her head on one side, and regarded the alien appraisingly. 'You know, if I were you, I wouldn't waste my resources just fighting for the heck of it. It isn't logical, or –'

A fist slammed toward her face, and she hadn't bent backward in the nick of time, she was pretty sure her jaw would have been shattered. She righted herself to see the alien staring at her, looking pale and livid. 'Don't – talk – to me – about – logic!' he snarled, lunging forward and swiping again at Izumi, who hopped to the side and counter-attacked half-heartedly. 'I already have to hear Pai-baka lecturing me about it half the time, without you joining in...'

'Pai-baka?'

'My brother,' the alien seemed to say it without even thinking. 'He's come to Earth and he's being a jerk.'

_Pai..._

_Stay out of this... a fight for a brother... _

The words seemed to float into her head, unbidden. Izumi blinked, and shook her head; it was probably something to do with the word 'brother'... nothing important. She looked at the alien with a feeling that was almost concern. 'Kid... is something up? Because you don't seem your old, insufferable self somehow...'

He threw another punch, but she dodged it effortlessly. 'You can tell me; you never know, I might even be able to empathize,' she cajoled.

The Cyniclon seemed to give in to the urge to moan about his problems to someone, and floated up out of reach of Izumi. He crossed his legs, folded his arms and scowled. Izumi was suddenly overcome by how strange this scene would look to a passer-by: A cat-woman standing in a smashed art gallery, looking up at a boy with green hair and long, pointed ears, who was floating in the air and talking about his problems.

The alien cleared his throat, and started to talk. 'Unless you've ever had your big brother and your midget cousin turn up, uninvited, and start to take over taking over the earth, and patronize you, and rant about the idiocy of your previous attacks, and tease you endlessly about your many failed attempts at killing people... then no, onee-baka, I don't think you can empathize.'

Izumi admitted that she had never had to deal with that exact problem.

'So,' he said with morbid triumph, 'there's absolutely _no way _you can sympathize.'

'I may not have had your issues to the last detail, but I know how it feels to have someone think you're not needed anymore,' Izumi said, thinking bitter thoughts about her cousin. 'And I know what I would do.' _Well, not _me, _but Mika, and she seems pretty compatible with this kid._ 'Stop helping them. Just go do something else here on earth, laze around, and leave them to screw up the mission instead.'

The boy floated down from the air, took a few steps forward and kicked a paint-roller hard at her head; she heard the _whoosh _as it spun past her ear. 'Whose side d'you think I'm ON?' he exclaimed, scowling at her.

'I don't know... no-one?' she suggested. _Like I should be, like Mika is._

'Even if they don't want me, I am a Cyniclon warrior!'

Izumi sighed. _Just like I'm a Mew Mew. I wish we didn't have to fight, we three... but wait, Mika doesn't fight, not since Kisshu..._

'Hey, Izumi, will you join the Cyniclons? Then we could both go back to Pai and Tart, or just hang around not doing anything like you said...'

Izumi bristled. _He would ask me to switch to his side, even now? _'How, uh, nice of you to offer me a chance to jump ship without having to fight anyone. But... whose side do you think **I'M** on???'

Kish jumped backward, his palms held up in defence. 'Okay, okay! Keep your hair on!'

But Izumi had started her rant now, and she wasn't going to stop anytime soon. 'Just because my side doesn't value me at the moment, doesn't mean I'm not going to stay true to my cause! You go on at me about not respecting your loyalty, and then you just start going on at me about it, as if I'm going to jump ship just because you say so!

'And another thing! I'm still going to fight for my cause, even if M – uh... some people... that may or may not include you, aren't! I'm still worth something, whatever those guys say, now that they have some other people who they think will do the job better. I may suddenly be yesterday's news, but I'll still work! Even if I have to do my work in secret, with no support, and nobody understanding – HEY!'

An enormous crate of oil pastels had just been tipped over her head, battering her as they cascaded to the floor. She looked up, covered in flecks of colour and gasping in indignation, to see the alien half-scowling, half-smirking and brandishing the empty box.

'We're supposed to be talking about me, oneebaka, and _my_ issues, not boring old you!' he called down to her, his voice almost whining.

_BRAT! _'You're not the only one with problems!' she shouted back, clenching her fists.

'Oooh, you have _problems, _eh?' he said mockingly. Izumi wasn't quite sure what he was implying, but she decided to take umbrage at his tone. Besides, he needed payback after that pastel stunt.

She shifted surreptitiously to the side toward where an open tube of paint lay abandoned on the floor, keeping his attention on her by talking. 'Yes, Cyniclon, _problems, _they do exist for people other than you, you know. But I can think of a few problems you _should_ be worrying about right now... hmmm, like, I don't know...' Izumi stamped her sandaled foot down hard on the tube. 'Paintballing scores?'

The squirt of yellow paint shot perfectly at Kish's forehead, hitting him with a resounding 'splat' and slowly oozing down into his eyebrows. Kish gasped and his hands flew to his head.

'You... ' he snarled, trying to get the paint off but only succeeding in rubbing it into his fringe. Then he stopped and stared at her, grinning evilly. 'You are going to _pay_.'

He disappeared in a ripple of air, only to appear again behind her holding two spray-cans of lurid green graffiti paint. He held them up, cackling, and Izumi gasped and rolled away in the nick of time, just avoiding a squirt of the toxic-looking stuff that was aimed for her dress. She grabbed a canvas that was propped in a corner, and held it in front of her like a shield, her spear forgotten. The alien advanced, brandishing the cans, and she brought the shield round in the nick of time, so the paint made a rather attractive swirly effect on the canvas.

'Come out from behind there and fight me yourself, you coward!' he shouted at her, as she frantically moved the shield to catch his squirts.

'I'm no coward, Cyniclon!' she riposted, springing forward like a cat. An abandoned palette just to the boy's right caught her eye, and she snatched it up then dodged from side to side, taking the brush in her left hand and quickly drawing a purple smiley on the front of his shirt.

The look on his face was priceless.

'You did not!' he bellowed.

She answered coolly, barely holding back her hysterical laughter. 'Looks like I did.'

'Why'd you have to pick _purple?' _he screeched, swiping the palette from her hand. A manic glint entered his eye. 'It's REVENGE!' he yelled, then scooped up three fingers-full of pink paint and globbed them through her hair.

Izumi didn't move for a few seconds, just stood there blinking as he flew backwards, laughing uncontrollably.

Then she started ranting. 'NOT... THE... HAIR!!! Don't you blooming boys have **ANY **flipping respect!?' She lunged forward, grabbing the first thing that came to hand – a pastel from the floor- and lunged toward his face, intent on drawing a moustache. Kish tried to move backwards, but slipped on the pile of rolling pastels and skidded back, flying upright in the nick of time. Izumi ran another step forward and positioned her weapon, and realising what she was about to do, Kish brought his painty hand up to yank her hair –

'You're... going somewhere with this?' a cool, alto voice issued from outside the room, and the combatants froze mid-battle, turning their heads in unison to see who the speaker was.

It was the purple Mew – Zakuro Fujiwara, standing in the broken window, her face a picture of surprise and confusion.

Izumi slapped the boy's hand off her hair, and stepped away from him, nearly slipping backward in the pastels. 'Uh, no, there was just a... then we... that is, he... What are _you _doing here, Zakuro?'

The wolf showed a flicker of annoyance at her name being said, but seemed to brush it away. 'Shi – our Leader said there was a weak signal for a chimera anima in here, but it's gone now. Did you defeat it?'

'Yes, it wasn't too hard.' The alien gave an angry snort. 'But then, we started fighting, and it got a little out of hand...'

'Out of hand,' Zakuro echoed. She glanced piercingly at both of them. 'You looked as though you were having a paint fight.'

The alien spoke at last. 'Maybe we were, Wolfy,' he grinned, showing his fangs. 'Care to join in?'

She stared at him levelly. 'I think I'll pass – I'm here to do real fighting, not mess about wasting everyone's time,' she then looked past him coolly, toward Izumi. 'Well, if you defeated his chimera, shall we go?'

Izumi shot half a glance at the Cyniclon, then shook her head to clear it of the stupid thought that he might be hurt if she left without finishing their paint right, and nodded to Zakuro. 'Sure.'

They left the building together, Izumi blinking as she stepped into the sunlight of the street. 'What was that all about?' Zakuro asked incredulously, as they walked down the mercifully empty street.

Izumi shrugged helplessly. 'Well, we were fighting, but then it just sort of deteriorated with the paint and so forth, and we just ended up playing, really. It's so strange, whenever I'm with that alien, I feel...' Izumi searched her head to think up a plausible definition for how she felt when she was with the strange, green-haired Cyniclon.

'Weird?' Zakuro suggested. Izumi nodded.

Zakuro sighed. 'Me too, a bit – but from the way you were acting, not as much as you, I think. But... I can still feel there's something... different about him,' both girls walked on in silence for a few moments, until they came to a side-alley.

'I'll go down here and de-transform,' both girls said together, and then laughed awkwardly.

'You go there,' Zakuro said at last, 'I'll find some other place.'

Izumi nodded. 'Thanks. I hope to see you again soon, Zakuro.'

'You too, uh...'

'Izumi,' _After all, what harm can telling her my first name do?_

Zakuro smiled, her blue eyes lighting up momentarily. 'Cool. Bye.'

Izumi started to run off down the alley, and then stopped. 'Oh yeah, Zakuro?'

'Yeah?'

'Expect to meet some new aliens soon.'

Zakuro frowned. 'There's backup? How do you know?'

Izumi smiled to herself. 'It's a long story,' and she was running down the alley away from Zakuro, detransforming as she went.

* * *

Kish stood alone in the ruined art store, trying to wrap his head around the ludicrous fight he and Izumi had just had. Every time he had nearly rationalized it to himself, persuaded himself that there was a good reason why they had been acting like a brother and sister having a paint fight, not mortal enemies – and why that had felt _right – _some fresh memory of him throwing pastels over her head and whatnot would spring to the surface, making him shake with renewed chuckles. Somewhere in the midst of this circular argument, Tart appeared next to him, making him jump.

'Hey, did that rubbish chimera get defeated?'

Kish swung around, just about managing to keep the annoyance out of his voice. 'Yeah, the... uh... Purple Wolf one did it.' He wasn't entirely sure why he was keeping Izumi out of the conversation, but he did it nonetheless.

Tart laughed. 'All on her own? And you didn't kill her while you had the cha –' just then, his eyes travelled down and noticed the large purple mark on Kisshu's shirt. 'Hey Kisshu, how'd you get that? The _Mew _didn't draw it on, did she?'

Kish though frantically for an excuse, knowing howimpossible it would be to explain the truth. 'Uh... this big can of purple paint got hit by the chimera, and I got spattered. It looks kinda like a smiley, doesn't it?' he added casually, forcing a laugh – then having a real laugh as he recalled their battle again. Honestly, what was the matter with him?!

Tart nodded, smiling and convinced. 'Yeah, it does. Well, bye-bye, Kisshu, Pai just asked me to tell you that you shouldn't wander off and made random rubbish chimeras because it depletes our stocks.'

'Whatever, Pai,' Kisshu muttered.

'What did you say?'

'Never mind. Oh, and also, we're doing a big attack on the Mews at the end of this week, so don't get in our way. See ya!' then the air rippled, and Tart was gone.

Kish sat down on a pile of crates, fuming. Pai was so flipping high and mighty, with his stupid _logic _and stupid oh-so-cold attitude... if he wanted to say something to Kish, he should get down off his high horse and speak to him in person...

Then through the anger, a new idea presented itself to Kisshu. It was something that would more definitely inconvenience Pai, but would be impossible to pin on himself; and wouldn't get in the way of their mission that much. But it would be fun to sit back and watch Pai's plans go hay-wire just this once, because of something he hadn't factored in. Pai would realise what was wrong soon enough, but by then the damage would be done to this precious attack.

He wouldn't tell Pai about Izumi.

**A/N: So, did you like it? Please say you did! Sorry about the ridiculously long gap between updates, school has literally taken over my life here, I am struggling even to get this one up. .  
BTW, just to clarify from past things I contradicted myself on: Mika's surname Is Tszukiko, and that other random guy is Hirotaki. Sorry, I mixed it up a bit with the previous chapter... o_o  
Also, IZUMI, not Mika, is the leader of the team. Sorry, in a previous chapter I said otherwise, but here it is! XD Izumi is leader. Clear? Good! ^_^**

**Love you all, thanks for reading this!  
Izzy**


	9. Battles and Butterflies

**Chapter 6 – Butterflies and Battles**

**A/N: SORRY for the ridiculously long gap between updates! I hope to get this finished by the deadline of New Year, but I don't know how reasonable that is. I'm sorry if the chapters become a bit rushed from this point on, but I really want to get this story finished!  
Anyhow... enjoy! **

'Please, don't touch it!' Rei begged, reaching toward the butterfly. 'It's wings are covered in a dangerous toxin!'

Pai smiled, showing his fangs, and lifted his hand. 'Nice to know,' he commented, lifting his hand. The scientist gasped, her feet pulled off the ground by the force of the energy, and then her spirit had left her. Pai took the hovering ball of light and merged it with the butterfly. He held the glowing ball at arm's-length, and the chimera began to slowly emerge, shafts of light materializing to form wings, arms, and eyes.

'The spirit was quite strong,' commented Tart, 'so why do you need to add poison as well?'

Pai shrugged. 'Any spirit can do with improvement. Besides, it was what was to hand,' he nudged the scientist's unconscious body with his foot – carelessly. 'She must have been killing butterflies for years to get such a collection.'

'No wonder their numbers are dropping!' Tart laughed psychotically.

Pai half-smiled. 'Now, all we need to do is wait for the Mews to find us. Defeating them should be easy.'

* * *

'Uh... a picture?'

Mika smiled. 'No.'

'A pole?'

'Nope.'

'A pastel?'

'No – wait, where did you get that idea from?! There aren't even any pastels _in _here!'

Izumi laughed nervously. 'I can't think. Erm... a poster?'

'_Finally! _You've only been staring at it for the last ten minutes! Izumi, I hate to break it to you, but you suck at I Spy._'_

The ocelot mew grumbled incomprehensibly, glancing mutinously at the coca-cola advert. 'Fine. But it had blended into the surroundings.'

'It's all part of the game, Iz. You should have thought outside the box. Your turn.'

Izumi and Mika had been standing in the underground station for at least half an hour. They had been at a national park north of Tokyo for most of the day, but had returned only to find had been a crash on the line they usually took to get home, meaning that they were now standing at the back of a very long queue for a crowded station transporting double the amount of people it usually had to cater for. Desperate for something to do, they had resorted to 'I Spy', and at the moment Mika was winning.

'Hmmm, what shall I pick?' Izumi thought hard, trying to think of something that Mika would be sure not to think of. Something that blended in totally... _Aha! _'Okay then, Mika. I spy, with my little eye, something beginning with "C".'

Mika grinned. 'Ceiling.'

'Nope.'

'Crash?'

'That miles away. And no.'

Mika was having to think now. 'Coke?'

'Nopety-nopety-noo.'

'You're so immature!' Mika exploded, riled that she hadn't been able to guess as quickly as she'd hoped.

'You're the one who suggested we play I Spy!' Izumi said equally heatedly. 'Guess again,' she giggled evilly. 'Try thinking _outside _the box, Mika-chan.'

Mika hissed. 'C... c...' she glanced around the station, hoping for inspiration. '_C..._' she glanced at Izumi, then frowned. 'Iz, why is your choker glowing?'

Izumi snarled. 'Dammit, you gue – ' then she comprehended what Mika was saying properly, and looked down. 'Oh, crap.' She turned around and started to run, elbowing her way through the crowd.

Mika stumbled after her. 'Izumi! What the heck are you doing, the queue's going to – '

Izumi turned to face her. 'Something's wrong, Mika, I've got to go fight.'

'You mean, with Tokyo Mew M – '

'_Of course that's what I mean! _Look, you go back quickly, or you'll lose your place in the queue, you baka. I'll be back sometime, late, once I've...' she searched for the right words, 'sorted it out.

'Unless,' she added hopefully, 'you'll come with me?'

Mika's face closed. 'Not happening, Iz,' she said flatly, 'And I don't think you should go, either.'

Izumi sighed. 'Fine. I'll see you whenever, then. Now get back in the queue unless you want to wait for _another_ hour!' and she was gone.

Mika stomped back to her place, fuming. Why must Izumi _continually _go off, risking her life where there was no need? It was getting repetitive; and beginning to wear on her nerves. Supposing she died? Had she even considered what life would be like for Mika if _both _of her best friends were dead?

_Baka. _

Meanwhile, Izumi was sprinting through the streets of Tokyo, following her instincts to where the trouble seemed to be. She was receiving funny looks from those around her, and turned off down a side-road. The next moment, with a blue glow, she was ghosting through the shadows in a fluid sprint, as an ocelot.

She crossed a bridge, and entered a dark area – she hadn't realised how late it had got, waiting in that queue (maybe I Spy really _did _pass the time) - the only light coming from the occasional window left open, or one or two street-lamps at corners. Lucky she had cat eyesight. Left, right, left again – she was heading through a maze of housing blocks, a veritable rabbit-warren. God knew what the aliens were doing here...

Izumi stopped, listening, and returned to her human form. Across the still evening air, the unmistakable sound of a battle floated toward her.

'Ribbon Lettuce _RUSH!_'

The call of a chimera, a female one, by the sound of it...

And a new attack. 'Fuu rai Sen!'

'Oh, crap,' Izumi repeated, and started to run forward.

'Mew Mew Izumi, Metamorpho-SIS!'

* * *

The battle was raging outside Rei's house, and for the first time in a while, the Mews were finding this Chimera hard to beat. The lethal, six-limbed butterfly-monster had showered them with toxic phosphorous, bringing even Zakuro to her knees.

Lettuce guessed it probably had something to do with the two new aliens that had appeared tonight. The short one with the brown hair – scarcely more than a child – and the cold, calculating man. She expected reinforcements had been called in after Kish had failed on so many occasions.

She looked again over to where Rei was trapped, like an insect in a web, pale and spiritless. Her face was tinged with blue, and as Lettuce watched, another tendril wrapped around her.

'We will save her DNA as our sample,' the tall alien said coldly. Lettuce tried to find her voice, to speak as Ichigo had done, but the phosphorous in her throat still burned at every breath.

_I have to do something... but I can't... move..._

Footsteps clattered across the pavement, and then Keiichiro was past her, heading recklessly into the eye of the battle.

'Akasaka-san!' Ichigo cried. Lettuce could only manage a kind of hoarse call, her throat searing.

'You guys take care of the aliens, I'll help Rei!' he shouted.

The tall alien stood regarding Keiichiro from the air, his arms folded. 'How foolish,' he commented. Lettuce's head snapped toward him, trying to see if there was even the slightest hint of emotion in his eyes.

Keiichiro had just reached the cocoon of poison, and plunged in without a moment's hesitation, trying to reach Rei.

_Akasaka-san, it'll kill you!..._

* * *

Izumi sprang onto a rooftop and sprinted forward, vaulting over a power-box and then leaping to stand, precariously balanced, on top of a lamp-post. She was invisible but for a silhouette, and from her vantage point she got a full, aerial view of the battle.

It was everything she had ever feared in one fight.

The Mews on their knees, crippled by a terrible chimera. Not one but two aliens standing over the scene, seemingly in control. A hostage, trapped in a web of light, her spirit gone. And – worst of all – Keiichiro... heading straight into the centre of the danger. Even now he was entering the desolate area that surrounded the web of venom.

Izumi opened her mouth to scream, but no sound came out other than a small, strangled yowl, like a kitten in pain. With another stab of pain, she realised exactly where she was: outside Keiichiro's ex-girlfriend's house. And if he was risking his life for her like that.... he must still love her.

A sudden, black urge overtook Izumi to just do nothing, let both of them die. After all, why should she help them? They had caused her nothing but pain and embarrassment. It would make life so simple if they were gone. Or to somehow just save Keiichiro, and not that woman...

_No. _

Izumi shook her head fiercely, and stood tall. She was a Mew Mew. It was her duty to help all people, regardless of her personal views. She would be strong, and fight, even though it was hurting her heart.

She breathed deeply, mustering a shout to put the necessary conviction behind the words. 'Izumi...' she muttered her name, then raised her voice so that all might hear. 'VINE **ATTACK**!'

A spurt of vines, faster, darker and denser than any she had produced before, shot toward the glowing ball of poison where the pair stood.

The effect was enormous. A blast of turquoise light swelled from the spot there the attack had hit, eliminating the cocoon instantly, and crippling the chimera into the bargain. Keiichiro and Rei were left standing, shell-shocked but unscathed, with pink buds beginning to flower around them.

Izumi froze, as nine pairs of eyes turned to look at her.

* * *

Pai was surprised, to put it mildly.

He had been so sure that it was in the bag, that the Mews could not hope to win. But now, his chimera was on the verge of collapse, and the hostage was free.

But then, an extra Mew wasn't something he had factored into his calculations.

He whipped around and stared at the figure that was silhouetted against the moon, her hair blowing in the breeze. He could just make out cat ears and a tail. She gave a quiet, feline hiss, and his ears twitched; but before he could even begin to take note of anything else, she leapt forward and took off into the night.

'Pai!' he heard a high voice behind him say, and jumped. It was Taruto, who was looking as bewildered as he felt. 'Who...who did that!'

'Ichigo – now!'

Pai had let his guard down. Jerking sharply back to his senses, he lunged forward, brandishing his fan; but Mew Ichigo was already shouting out her fatal attack. He bell was pointed straight at the chimera's chest.

'Ribbon Strawberry CHECK!' The words cut through the clear night, and in a burst of rainbow sparks, the chimera was destroyed.

Pai flew into the air, Tart shadowing him. They had just lost their first battle; Pai was just beginning to think of the consequences; Kish would never let him live it down, and Deep Blue-sama would be angry with them...

But _who _was that cat-girl who had lost the battle for them?

Then it clunked into place in Pai's head.

_She must have be one of the first Mews. _

But if that was so, where was the other one? Surely if one was fighting, both would be...?

Pai suddenly realised that Tart and the Mews were looking at him, as though they expected him to say something. He sighed, and fixed the Mews with a cold stare.

'We'll be back,' he promised, and then teleported quickly, Tart following suit.

Keiichiro stared up at the now-empty sky for a moment, and then felt Rei move in his arms. The glowing spirit, freed of its host, had made its way back into her body, and now she was beginning to stir. The colour was slowly returning to her cheeks and her eyelids were fluttering, but Keiichiro's thoughts were elsewhere. A thousand conflicting questions and theories were running round his head. He was on no doubt of whom their saviour was – he would recognize that attack anywhere.

_Izumi... is still fighting, even though she doesn't have to. Is Mika fighting as well, or is it just her? _

_She saved us. She risked her life. _

_Why?_

**TBC... **


	10. Chats

**Hey hey, another chapter, started in record time! XD **

**Enjoy!**

**Chats**

Pai's fist came down on the table. 'Why didn't you _warn _us that the ol – ' he stopped himself just in time, 'that there were more than five Mews?!'

Luckily, Kish didn't seem to have noticed anything. He lounged back in his chair, the picture of nonchalance, letting Pai stew for a few seconds before deigning to answer. 'It must have slipped my mind,' he commented, studying his clawed nails.

Pai breathed out heavily through his nose. 'Slippery as your mind is, in future, you would do well not to 'forget' anything else of this nature. As it was, I didn't factor their – that is, eh, her – existence into my calculations and therefore the battle was lost.'

'Soz, Pai,' Kish replied infuriatingly, tilting his chair back on two legs, 'I'll be sure not to.'

Pai sighed, deciding he wasn't going to get any sense out of Kisshu for today. 'Sometimes I wonder whose side you are on,' he growled, and then stalked out of the room.

Kish folded his hands behind his head and smirked contentedly. That had been comedy gold, the way they had lost the battle... Ah well, now he was even with them, and he could get on with life. He wouldn't want any more of his people to die, after all.

_Sometimes I wonder whose side you're on... _the words that Pai had said, that he had barely acknowledged at the time, now floated to the forefront of his mind. He shoved it back down hastily, down into that briar of dreams and other things he did not enjoy thinking about – but it bobbed up again. Whose side _was _he on?

Kish sighed. Of _course _he was on the aliens' side – what a stupid thing to say! Pai was just neurotic.

_But then, _a small, inconvenient voice reminded him, _why didn't you warn them about Izumi? If you were really on Pai's side, you would have told him about her, and aliens could have been moving to Earth right now. _

Kish growled. He was a Cyniclon! Why would Pai even think he was with the enemy? This was a ridiculous argument to get into. Sure, he had kissed Mew Ichigo, and stalked her occasionally, but that was just because she was cute. Nothing serious...

'What would make Pai think I was on the Mew's side?' he said aloud, into the empty room. Silence.

And then, as if in answer to his question, a dream. One that he had tried to forget, from the depths of that forbidden area in his mind.

_A girl, with chestnut brown, spiky hair and silvery-green eyes was standing before him. She smiled brilliantly, then laughed and lifted one hand, looking at him as though expecting something. His own hand lifted, and he slapped his palm against hers, noting that her hands were just as large as his own. He could see affection in her eyes, and as she gazed at him, a hint of longing. He wondered if she felt something more than friendship for him, his thoughts saturated with hope..._

_Then, something moved, catching his eyes and drawing them away from her face. He realised, with a jolt, that she was sporting orange-brown, striped ears, and a long, twitching tail. _

_He lifted a hand to his own head. It also seemed to touch something... soft... and where were his other ears, the ears that marked him as an alien?..._

_Gone. _

_He looked at the girl with shock, and she stepped forward. When she spoke, her voice was puzzled .'Kish..?'_

'Mika,' Kish murmured. Then he started, and glanced around nervously. Luckily, there was no-one to be seen.

_What _was_ that?! _He asked himself, getting up from his chair and beginning to pace. That dream had been strange, treacherous and down-right wrong. Luckily, these dreams were coming less and less often – they had mostly been around the time when he first came to earth, and when he had fought Izumi. _Good riddance, _he thought quickly.He jammed the ridiculous dream back to the bottom of his subconscious, where it belonged, and ran a hand through his hair.

'Why me?' he moaned, and then lifted his hands and touched his ears.

_Just checking. _

_* * *_

'Ryou called again,' Mika remarked at breakfast. It was a Saturday, and exactly three weeks since the fight with the butterfly. Ryou had called every other day since then, demanding to know exactly what Izumi was doing. So far, every

Izumi put her head down on the table and groaned. 'Why can't he just leave me be? Is he complaining, or something?'

Mika huffed and drummed her fingers on the table. 'Look, Izumi-chan, far be it from me to willingly agree with Ryou over practically anything, but why don't you just go face him? He can't make you do anything you don't want to.'

'It's not that I'm afraid of him,' Izumi scoffed, 'I just don't want him to think I'm condoning what he's doing in any way. I'm helping for the sole reason that I don't want those girls getting hurt.'

Mika raised an eyebrow. 'Is that the only reason?'

There was a pause. Then Izumi spoke. 'It is the way... in which my instincts lead me. When something is wrong, my choker glows; I sense a sort of nostalgic power, warm and strong. Then I get the incentive and power I need to transform into a cat, and fight. I guess I feel drawn to do it, as a vocation. Mika-chan, doesn't that happen to you?'

Mika looked slightly confused. 'I get no such impulse. The only time I feel the need to fight is when I know you are in danger, as my fellow Mew.'

Izumi lifted her head off the table, a smile on her face. 'That explains a lot.'

'How do you mean?' Mika enquired.

'Why you won't fight, why you don't turn into an animal... you just don't have so many instincts as I do. Though why that is still seems to be a mystery,' Izumi stood up and grabbed a brush, raking her hair into two messy braids and tying them with bands that almost matched. 'I'm not going to try and make you fight anymore, now I know that, Mika-chan, except when I'm in danger. If that's the way it is for you, who am I to fight it?'

'You know,' Mika said musingly, 'the problem with this whole instinct fandango for us retired Mews is we don't have enough of us to get a reliable answer. That is, if Kish were here, we could find out whether he's getting urges to fight all the time, like you, or barely ever, like me. Then we could find out which of us is the weird one...'

Izumi turned around. 'Mika.'

'Mmm?' Mika looked slightly dreamy, caught up in her thoughts of Kish.

'Stop it.'

'Stop what?'

Izumi screwed her eyes tight shut for a moment, trying to muster the force to say the words that would hurt her friend. '_Stop talking about Kish as though he's still alive!'_

Mika jerked backward as if she had been slapped, and then her face hardened. 'So you don't believe it either, now.'

All the feelings of guilt and grief and irritation at her friend's refusal broke the surface, and suddenly Izumi couldn't hold it anymore. 'No, Mika, I don't! I don't believe that he's still out there somewhere, just getting ready to come back! I don't believe that he's just going to hop into his flying saucer and come back here tomorrow, or the next day, or the next! If he was going to do that, he would have done it already.  
'I've managed to let it go and grown up, Mika. My brother – yes, he was my brother, or might as well have been – died in a fire five years ago, and now all I can do is make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else. And you need to do it to. Because the longer you keep up this stupid game, the more it's going to hurt when you REALISE IT'S NOT GOING TO HAPPEN!'

Izumi stopped. She felt like a dam that had burst, releasing all its pent-up energy in one, devastating blast. Now all that was left was her real feelings, the small stream that only wanted her friend to be happy and have a good life. 'Look, I'm sorry, Mika,' she said, far more gently. 'I know you loved him, but...'

Mika's head had been bent, but now she looked up, and Izumi saw with dismay that her green eyes were swimming with tears. 'How dare you? How _dare _you just assume you know, assume that I love him. _You don't know ANYTHING about how I feel! _I'm not going to let go of him as easily as you have, just give up on one of the most important people in my life, but that doesn't mean – '

'So you didn't love him?' Izumi asked her. Mika hissed but said nothing, and bent her head so that her friend wouldn't see the tears fall. Izumi had her answer.

_She can't deny it. She physically can't. _

'You _did_,' she said softly.

'SHUT UP!' Mika lifted her face, eyes full of rage and embarrassment at her feelings being laid so bare. She drew breath, getting ready to hurt back. 'You think you know everything, don't you, Izumi – you think that you've managed to get over something I haven't, and you feel smug and grown-up because of it. But all it shows is that you're narrow-minded and you loved him a hundred times less than I did. So what if I do love him? It's clear, in any case, that I love Kisshu a hundred times more than _you_!'

'I – ' Izumi started, but Mika ignored her.

'You say you saw him as your _brother, _but you're ready to just give up on him – I would neverdo that. While you just carry on with your life, I haven't stopped hurting, ever since the day he was taken from me. What keeps me going is this: the knowledge that he isn't dead. If he was, I would know. But until I feel something change, in my instincts, or in my love, I'll know he's still alive.'

'How could you feel something like that?' Izumi asked incredulously. Mika smiled.

'Aren't you the one who's always going on about instincts? Well don't blame me for the fact that you've smothered your own, in an effort to keep real and grow up. Maybe you never felt them in the first place – like I can't feel you "warm nostalgia". I don't know.'

Mika let a growl enter her voice, staring at her friend with all the tenacity of a tiger defending its territory. Her posture was tense and her centre of gravity was low. 'But I'm not going to help convince you believe me anymore, Izumi, and I don't need your help in upholding my own belief. I _don't care _what you think. So stop trying to change my mind.'

The Ocelot Mew staggered backward at the venom in her words; she was without a comeback to such a thorough abandonment of reason. Half of her wanted to fly at Mika and attack her, the other half wanted to sort all this and keep her as her ally, her sister. But as she took note of Mika's posture and the look in her eyes, a little of the raw animal instinct in Izumi warned her that in this fight, she was now the weaker of the two – Mika would be past reason and strong with her rage. She should retreat.

'You know, I think I'll go visit Ryou right now,' Izumi's voice was unsteady and her words rushed. Then, before Mika could reply, she was out of the room and running down the stairs, sobs of shock and hurt beginning to choke their way from her throat.

* * *

It wasn't most relaxing day of Lettuce's life.

Zakuro and Ichigo were both away from the cafe, getting ready for the jewellery show that Ichigo had been drafted in to help at. Therefore, the remaining three Mews had two-fifths (Lettuce's mathematical brain had been worked that out, but it felt like far more) as much work again as they usually did. Mint was actually working, though with a very bad grace and with as slowly as possible, and Pudding was serving orders double-time (Lettuce briefly thanked God for the store of limitless energy that could be found in Pudding), but it was still hard.

'Welcome to the cafe,' she said to another person, her attention still mostly on the tray she was balancing in her other hand. 'Can I take your...'

She trailed off, as she took in Izumi's appearance.

She was pale, except for a red spot on either cheek, and her eyes were tinged red. Her face looked drawn, and her hands were clenched around the strap of her bag. 'Hello, Lettuce,' she said dully, 'may I see Shirogane, please?' she kept her gaze down, as though incapable of looking even Lettuce in the eye.

'H-hai, Izumi-san,' Lettuce said, perturbed at seeing this woman, who had last time she had seen her been in control and even a little intimidating, now barely keeping herself together. 'Would you like to come with me?'

Izumi stood with her, managing a watery smile. 'Yes, thank-you, Lettuce.'

Together, they made their way into the kitchen, where Keiichiro was just putting a tray of jam tarts into the oven. His hands were covered in flour, some of which had even made its way into his hair, making him look as though he had just come inside from a snowstorm. _Oh well, _thought Lettuce, _if he will_ _wear it so long..._

Lettuce looked to the side, and saw with surprise that Izumi was motioning frantically away from Keiichiro, her cheeks slightly pinker than they had been when she first came in. Bending down, she hissed to Lettuce, 'Come on, just take me to Ryou. He doesn't need to know I'm here...' Lettuce shrugged, but quietly ushered Izumi through the door into the lab where Ryou was; thankfully, Keiichiro seemed to be having some trouble fitting the tray into the oven, and so Izumi was able to slip easily out of sight.

Lettuce shut the door and bit her lip. She had been meaning to ask Akasaka-san whether Izumi should be allowed down there, but the latter had seemed so anxious not to be seen by Keiichiro that she had just hoped for the best.

_I hope Ryou isn't working on anything Mew-related, _she fretted, then kicked herself. _Of course he is! What else would he be working on?_

Meanwhile, in the basement, Ryou gave a cry of triumph. Another record broken! He stared at the screen with enormous concentration, lowering the brick carefully into place to score yet another line. Yes! Now if he could just get one of those green ones...

'Ryou?'

Izumi had just entered the room, and was staring with surprise at her cousin, who was hunched over a computer doing something that was most definitely not work. Almost forgetting her own plight, she moved forward curiously to see if he was really playing Tetris, then started back as Ryou violently punched the air.

'Yesss! 3000 lines!' he crowed.

'Ryou,' Izumi said, slowly and clearly, 'It's me, Izumi.'

'Hmmm?' Ryou mumbled, his blue eyes fixed on the screen. 'Oh, coffee, Keiichiro. Thanks.'

Izumi tutted impatiently. 'No, baka, not Keiichiro. IZUMI.'

'Yeah, just put it down there.'

Izumi snarled, then walked forward and unplugged the computer. There was a screech of feedback, and the screen turned solid green, then switched completely off.

The result was immediate. Ryou started back in his chair with a cry of 'D'oh! What was that for?', swung around angrily, and came face to face with Izumi, whose eye was twitching dangerously.

'Nice of you to come back to the real world, Ryou-'nii-baka,' she said sarcastically.

Ryou leapt to his feet, sending his chair wheeling across the smooth floor behind him. 'Izumi! What are _you _doing here?' he made no comment on her run-down appearance – Izumi quietly thanked God that the dimness of the room and her cousin's general inobservance had saved her from _that _line of questioning, at least.

Izumi snorted. 'You're the one who's been leaving messages on my phone telling me to explain myself for the past three weeks.'

'Oh yes. Well, about that. Yeah, explain yourself then! I assume that's what you came here to do?'

The cat Mew sighed. 'Fine, but don't bother sitting back down. This won't take long.'

Ryou shrugged and leaned against the desk behind him. 'Fire away.'

Izumi started her prepared speech, her voice in monotone. 'Well, since I seem to have been affected by this crazy project of yours this time round as well as last time, I thought I might as well use my powers to do some good. So since they started, I've tried to stop those girls getting murdered by aliens, monsters and the like; as a kind of guardian, I suppose.'

Ryou snorted. Izumi glared at him, and went on.

'However, during that butterfly fiasco,' both of them winced at the memory, though for different reasons – 'I sensed danger, and using the element of surprise saved your butts. Unfortunately, I had to come into the open to do it, and you all saw me. I've been trying to stay unseen, but I guess this time my luck ran out. And that's about it. Can I go now?'

Ryou held up a hand, stepping forward. 'No. I have a few questions.'

Izumi leant against another desk with exaggerated casualness, then imitated her cousin's voice. 'Fire away.'

'Very funny. But anyway... number one. Is Mika doing this too, or is it just you?'

Izumi flinched violently at Mika's name, and her voice was slightly choked when she answered. 'no,' she said shortly, not trusting herself to speak.

'Why not?' Ryou pushed on.

'She doesn't have the... incentive,' Izumi replied, her tone making it quite clear, even to someone emotionally obtuse like Ryou, that she wanted the subject changed.

'Okay...' Ryou said, puzzled, 'erm, next question: seeing as you're monster-fighting anyway, why don't you join up with us?'

Izumi was ready with an answer. 'The same reason that Zakuro didn't – I may as well use my powers to good, but that doesn't mean I have to _condone_ it by being part of the team. You turned me into a freak – again – so I don't see why I should work for you. Oh, and also, if I had to wear one of those nauseatingly frilly waitress outfits you put them in, I would have to kill someone,' she added as an afterthought, eyeballing Ryou. He gave a small shudder, but got over it quickly as he thought of another point.

'But Zakuro joined up with us, in the end,' Ryou said triumphantly, 'So why not you?'

Deep, exasperated sigh. 'Ryou. I am not part of their team; I am part of a team that you created five years ago, that has since been disbanded. They do not need me to be at their strongest. I'm not even roughly _their age. _Therefore, using the magical skills of logic, we shall discover that in my case, unlike Zakuro's, it will make no difference whatsoever to the current team if I am officially in it or not, because I am not one of the intended members. Comprende?'

Ryou leant backwards, defeated. 'Fine. But the Spanish was lame.'

'Just because you lost,' Izumi jibed.

He glared. 'Whatever... immature,' he mumbled under his breath.

Izumi sighed, and began to turn toward the door. 'Well, if you're done interrogating me, I'd best be going.' Come to think of it, where _would _she go? She couldn't exactly head back to the flat, unless she wanted to carry on fighting with Mika. If she knew her friend, it would take longer than this for her to cool down.

So... the park? The library, to do some work (why oh why hadn't she thought of bringing her laptop)? Some cafe? Izumi shuddered as she thought of having to stay in _this _cafe for any longer.

Suddenly, her cousin's hand snapped in front of her face, and she started. 'Now who's gone off their planet, Izumi?' he commented sarcastically, standing in front of her. Izumi winced at the unintended double meaning of his words. 'What were you thinking about?'

_Yes, I was just wondering where to go because my best friend/flatmate/ Ex-fellow mew and I have just had an enormous argument about something... _Maybe not. Quick, a lie!

Izumi thought fast. 'Oh, uh... I was just wondering...' she glanced frantically around the room for inspiration, and her eyes alighted on a rotating 3-d image of a wolf on one of the many screens, luridly coloured according to its body heat, with an almost, but not quite, identical other wolf on the screen next to it. 'Is there any link between our red data animals?' she blurted lamely, not even sure if her question made sense. _Any link between our red data animals... _That could be interpreted as about five different things. _Baka Izumi. _

Ryou leaned forwards, interest replacing the sarcasm on his face. 'You mean, like... between you, Mika's and Kish's and the current Mews?' he asked.

Izumi nodded. _Just agree with whatever he says. _

Ryou pushed himself off the wall and began to pace. 'Well, it's interesting that you should mention that because...' _Oh dear God, there'll be no stopping him now. What have I done?! _'You see, it seems that related families of red data animals often have similar uses when it comes to creating Mews. I was researching that just before you came, actually.'

_Oh what, just before settling down to your hour-long game of Tetris? _Izumi thought sarcastically, but said nothing.

'For example,' said Ryou, getting into his stride, 'the Iriomote wildcat and the Brazilian ocelot, which have very similar genetic makeups and appearances, can both be used for making Mews. Not to mention the fact that both of you have become team leaders.

'...and the grey wolf and the brown wolf, also. Very similar, and both compatible with being made into Mews. Oh, that reminds me! Did we tell you about Mew Aqua?'

'Mew Aqua?' Izumi echoed. 'That name sounds a bit redundant to me.'

'Oh, not you as well!' Ryou cried, making her jump.

'Huh?'

'I make up a perfect name, and all _anybody_ can say about it is that it's "redundant"' Ryou echoed bitterly. 'It is absolutely typical of the treatment I –'

'Yes, yes,' Izumi cut him off hastily. At least his science lectures could get interestign at times, whereas listening to him moan... 'This Mew Aqua. What does it do?'

It's a strong energy which seems to take on several different forms, and though we don't know much about it yet, we know it is could be a powerful weapon for the Mews, because some of it merged with Mew Lettuce the other day at the beach...'

Ryou rambled on for quite a long time, seeming oblivious to the fact that Izumi was bored out of her tiny mind. It wasn't the first time he had done this – in the old days, a scientific lecture had been practically a daily occurrence for them. Back then, Izumi had managed to train herself to tune most of it out and just pick up the key bits. It seemed that skill was coming in useful again.

After another five minutes or so, Ryou had exhausted his information on Mew Aqua, and was back on related red data animals. '...It's logical that they should group together in such a way, I suppose, since Mews rely heavily on their animal instincts, and one animal's close genetic relatives are likely to have the same qualities. '

'How about the Bengal tiger?' Izumi asked politely.

'Hmmm,' Ryou mused. 'I didn't think of that. The family of big cats; and also that of porpoises, parakeets and monkeys – is one we haven't really investigated further for other compatible animals. Though now that you mention it, another big cat Mew could be interesting. Maybe next time...'

Izumi growled, very softly and ferociously, and lifted a hand slightly.

'That is, uh,' Ryou backtracked, 'if we were to have to make yet more Mews. Which we won't.'

'That's better,' Izumi commented, lowering her hand. She turned toward the door, and Ryou let out his breath. 'Well, Ryou-oniisan, that was very interesting. I expect we'll see each other again sometime,' Izumi was careful not to make any promises; she hoped not to have to encounter Ryou again too soon.

'Until then,' Ryou returned formally.

'Hai,' Izumi said, and then walked out, closing the door behind her.

Ryou waited until he could no longer hear her footsteps in the corridor, and then began to attempt to plug his computer back in.

* * *

Izumi headed around the back of the cafe – having waited until Keiichiro's back was turned before slipping very quietly through the kitchen door – past their dustbins (cursing her extra-sharp senses) and out into the park, which the cafe was situated in the middle of. It was a nice day, and Izumi decided it would as a good a way as any to pass the time until she could face going back to her flat to spend it here.

She headed through the more crowded area of the park to where the playground was, and settled herself there, amongst the playing children. She was just thinking how beatific it was when a Frisbee was thrown through the air, narrowly missing her head, and a small child came running up to her, crying for no apparent reason and dripping yoghurt everywhere. Standing up, she hurriedly handed the child a tissue and set it down on the grass. She walked quickly away before it could latch itself onto her leg, trying to rub the yoghurt off her own trousers and only succeeding it getting it further in.

Now in a very bad mood, Izumi stomped into the quieter forested area of the park. She felt worried about making Mika, annoyed at her stupid cousin, angry at herself for shouting at her best friend and dodging Keiichiro in such a cowardly way (she just wouldn't have been able to handle the effects of talking to him in her fragile mental state), and randomly guilty about not sorting that kid out properly. Somehow, cataloguing her misfortunes made Izumi feel better, and her stomp turned into a slow walk as she turned her mind to other matters. Now, that thing Ryou had been talking about just before she left. That had been quite interesting, the talking about red data animals and that other stuff... Mew Aqua, he had called it...?

While Izumi might not be a genius like her cousin, she didn't have a bad mind, and quite enjoyed biological and chemical science when it came her way. She couldn't abide Maths and technical physics wasn't her thing either, but when she had been a Mew the animal side of it had always interested her. It was odd that Mew animals grouped together in that way – Izumi had always assumed they were quite random. Now that she came to think of it, she didn't see why not. The whole Mew project was about about groups, anyway – a team that needed every member for its utmost power.

But that stuff about the Mew Aqua merging with the Porpoise-girl; that was quite extraordinary. Did that suggest that the substance might have some sort of link with the Mews, in its purpose, or perhaps behaviour?

Izumi's walk had become an amble, and her head was bent in deep thought. She was so absorbed in her thoughts that she barely noticed where she was going, let alone the fact that a pair of narrow-pupilled eyes watched her from the bushes...

* * *

Tart flew silently along behind his quarry, keeping to the shadows and feeling extremely pleased with himself. He hadn't encountered a spirit this strong since that butterfly woman.

He had come to the park looking for the younger, yellow Mew who sometimes performed here – he had been hoping to attack her if she was on her own, of course. But the park had been full of humans and there had been no sign of the – ridiculous – Monkey girl. So then, he had been floating disconsolately – no, _boredly – _along, when he had sensed a very poignant spirit nearby. Curious, he had followed his senses to find the source; it hadn't taken long before he found the human. She walking unobservantly through a deserted area; stealing her spirit would be so simple it would barely be fun.

So he had been following her for about five minutes. He might as well make his attack sooner rather than later – seize his opportunities like Pai was always telling him to.

Tart flew out from among the bushes, landing in front of the woman.

Izumi stopped, surprised. A baby Cyniclon?! What was he doing here? How had he known that she was a Mew?

Tart lifted a hand. 'Well, your spirit seems pretty strong. Perfect for a monster!' he cackled, his voice high-pitched but menacing.

Izumi let out her breath. Oh. Her spirit was strong. Well, she supposed it made sense, her being a Mew and all...

Suddenly, the little alien stopped. 'Why aren't you scared?' he asked crossly.

Izumi smirked and shrugged. 'Sorry... should I be?' she said curiously, and the little alien scowled.

'Yes! I'm your worst fear come true!' he clenched his small, pale fists, then lifted a hand again. This time, eerie rays of purple light extended from it, shafting toward Izumi.

She felt a strange twinge in her lower chest, as though something was being repeatedly tugged, but nothing more. _That's a relief; it would've been ironic if I'd been made into a powerful chimera. _

'Your spirit's stuck!' said the Cyniclon, his face contorted in effort. 'Why won't it – '

'That's unfortunate,' Izumi cut across him. 'Now, if you don't mind, I'd best be going, uh...'

'Tart!' Tart yelled.

'Tart –what an interesting name! Well, Tart, I'd love to stick around and let you have another try, but you see, I've got things to do, places to be, so I'll just – '

'Don't go anywhere!' Tart hollered. Before Izumi could move anywhere, he had opened up a teleporting hole, but instead of going through it, merely shouted. 'Paiiii! I need some – '

There was some muffled speech from the other end of the hole.

_Cool, _Izumi thought, regarding the rippling air with interest, _I didn't know they could use their teleportation to do that. _

Tart turned back to face her with a triumphant look on his face. 'Ha! You won't be able to stand up against Pai – your spirit's practically ours!'

'I look forward to meeting this Pai,' Izumi said politely. Tart unsuccessfully smothered a lot of annoyance.

'I doubt you'll be thinking that for long.'

Another, larger ripple appeared in the air. 'Here he comes,' Tart said, excitement showing in his eyes. Izumi narrowed her eyes, preparing herself.

A tall, purplish-haired alien stepped out of nothing, and looked around for the source of the commotion. His eyes locked on Izumi. 'Is this the problem?'

'Yes,' Tart said eagerly. 'Her spirit won't come out.'

Pai scrutinized Izumi for a few seconds, and she looked coolly back at him. 'Her spirit is indeed very strong,' Pai agreed. 'Strong enough to remain in her body without sufficient force.'

Tart flushed. 'You do it, then.'

Pai nodded, and motioned Tart aside. Now looking thoroughly unhappy, he floated in the air a little way behind Pai, legs crossed and glaring at Izumi.

The tall alien turned to Izumi and inclined his head. 'My name is Pai.'

She raised an eyebrow. 'So I gathered.'

'Hm,' Pai gave a small noise that could have meant assent or amusement, and then lifted his hand. 'I'm going to take your spirit,' he told her matter-of-factly, and again, the ominous purple rays extended from his hand.

The tug in Izumi's chest was stronger this time, and painful. She couldn't help but wince as it shifted again and again, as though between a tug of war between two irresistible forces. But still it didn't break, and Izumi felt no fear of it doing so. The Mew instincts in her were holding strong – they would not let her spirit break.

Seconds ticked by, and Pai began to show signs of strain. He leant backwards slightly, his arm tense with the effort of pulling so hard. Izumi gasped as the pulling force suddenly doubled in strength; Pai had lifted his other hand and was using both together to try and lure her spirit out. It felt like she was in a tug-of-war, her spirit being the rope.

A minute. Two minutes. A small part of her brain wondered whether it would be so bad just to give up... but with some difficulty, she pushed it aside, trying to not to think of the delicious feeling of relief it would bring. It might not be comfortable, but she did have the strength to do this... she _did..._

One minute and seventeen seconds later, Pai finished his last reserves of mental strength – and he wasn't even close to getting the spirit. In this battle of wills, he was the loser.

With a grunt, he gave up, his trembling hands falling in defeat. He doubled over and leant on his knees, embarrassment roaring through him at such a show of weakness in front of the enemy – and Tart. No wonder the boy hadn't been able to take her spirit.

Izumi had been forcing her full weight backward, pulling her spirit away from Pai as best she could. Now totally unbalanced, she toppled over backwards and sat down heavily in the grass. For a few seconds, she stayed where she was, panting heavily and watching both the aliens warily.

Tart look of total shock was almost comical. His eyes were wide, his fists clenched, and he was opening and shutting his mouth as though at a loss for words. The purple-haired alien pushed himself upright, turned and muttered something to his younger comrade – Izumi caught the words 'base' and 'seen too much'. She tensed herself, getting ready for the attack she knew was coming.

The small alien nodded and, with a last curious look at Izumi, disappeared into the ether. Pai turned around, and conjured a large red fan, decorated with yellow fringes and a symbol Izumi didn't recognize.

'Human, you have kept your spirit. I am not sure how you have done it, but when I analyze your DNA, I will find out.' He took a step towards her, with the slow precision of a stalking predator. Izumi shrank back into the grass, playing her part. She would wait until the last second.

'You have seen too much – that and the strength of your spirit could mean you are a risk to us. I am going to eliminate you. You have kept your spirit, but your life is another matter.'

Another step.

Izumi was as tightly coiled as a spring, waiting for exactly the right moment to make her move. She must keep the element of surprise...

'No-one will know who did it,' Pai promised. 'There's nobody here to witness, and...'

_Oh goodness, he's going to gloat, now. This is a waste of time. _

Izumi sat up. 'Look, if you're going to kill me, you may as well just do it. I don't have all day, you know.'

Pai looked affronted at having his pre-death ramble cut off, and slightly puzzled. 'Very well,' he said expressionlessly, 'I will kill you now. Farewell, human.' He lifted his fan, triumph in his eyes. 'Kuu Rei – '

Izumi shot from the grass like a bullet. 'Mew Mew Izumi, METAMORPHO-SIS!' she hollered, springing over Pai's head and landing behind him.

For the second time since he came to Earth, Pai was really and truly wrong-footed. He whirled around, surprise written plainly on his face, and stared at the cat-girl in front of him. 'You're – you're a Mew Mew!' he gasped . Suddenly, everything was making sense.

Izumi grinned. 'Yep! Surprised?' she commented jauntily.

He gave an annoyed 'tcha!', flying forward to engage her. 'You may have had the element of surprise, Mew, but that doesn't mean anything now!'

_So, I'm 'Mew' now? Not just 'Human'? _Izumi ran a little way backwards, cursing as she stumbled over a tussock of grass. 'Izumi Spear!' she said quickly, summoning her weapon in preparation for the fight to come.

'You know, Pai,' she commented, 'it would be considered polite to call me by my proper name, rather than just my species. Besides,' she continued, ' "Mew" isn't really a species. I'm still a human, just a rather special one.' A quick jump out of the way to avoid a blast of lightning. 'Or do you Cyniclons consider us a different sort of being altogether? _Izumi Vine Attack!_'

Pai didn't bother to reply, just deflected her attack with a sweep of his fan.

'Your younger comrade actually bothered to reply to my comments. I would hate to think that you would be so socially inept to sink lower in etiquette than him.'

Her opponent snorted, but Izumi noticed that there was the slightest trace of a smile on his mouth. 'On the contrary, I would consider it proper not to talk to you humans at all. But since you insist, Izumi, I'll make an exception.'

Izumi bowed her head in mock-formality, and then ducked to avoid a punch to her head. 'I'm honoured.'

'You should be.'

'Izumi vine ATTACK!'

This time, Pai only just dodged the spurt of leaves, teleporting to a spot some feet away. The combined strain of his failed attempt to steal her spirit and the pitched battle was beginning to show; he didn't know how he was going to win this battle; Izumi was at least as good a fighter as he was, and she kept distracting him –

'Izumi vine ATTACK!' Pai wearily flew out of the path of the attack; but this time, one of the tendrils wrapped around his wrist. He tore it off quickly with the other hand, realising he was quickly running out of time. He would have to think of something clever, and fast –

Pai gasped. Mouthing soundlessly, he stared over Izumi's shoulder, his arm falling limply to his side, his eyes fixed on the sky behind her.

Izumi turned interestedly to see what he was looking at.

_The oldest trick in the book. _

Before Izumi could so much as blink, Pai had snapped into his attack. 'Kuu Rei Sen!' he yelled, and a concentrated burst of lightning shot from his fan.

Izumi screamed as the blast hit her. She managed to jump fast enough that none of her vital organs were hit, but the energy went squarely onto her left leg, searing a line of burning electricity from just above her knee to her ankle. The gash smoked and stung, the flesh was burnt and raw but with no blood – the heat must have sealed her veins shut.

She bit her lip and screwed her eyes tight shut, her breath coming in ragged gasps. She shook her hair so it fell in front of her face, willing herself not to let any tears fall, not to show such weakness in front of her enemy.

But it hurt so _much_... Izumi gave a small sob in spite of herself.

Pai watched silently. _I should kill her now_, he thought, _before she recovers_. But he didn't.

After another few seconds, Izumi began to bring herself together; but the pain was so great that she felt she would black out any second. She had nothing left to run on...

Suddenly, she straightened up, resolve in her eyes. She had found something to latch onto, to give enough energy to keep going. And that was her rage with Pai – the _unfairness, _the lack of true valour and talent, which went with his blow – a victory she wouldn't let him have. She knew she shouldn't fight for hate, but desperate times called for desperate measures. If she didn't she would die.

She turned to glare at the alien, her eyes alive with anger. 'That was a dirty trick,' she spat.

'You played such a trick on me,' he returned coolly, 'when you sprung your attack on me at the start of our fight.'

'that required some skill, at least, and some nerve – whereas you shamelessly fooled me with a child's trick, one I trusted you with on your pride!'

Pai floated backwards, arms crossed. 'Pride only gets in the way. We're here to win, and to survive,' he said blankly.

'Then, Cyniclon,' Izumi felt her anger flare until she barely acknowledged the pain anymore, 'I can safely say that you are an unchivalrous, weak, cowardly bastard – no, that word's too good for you – SAVAGE, and if your whole race is like you, I will feel no more guilt in leaving you on that frozen ice block than I would a pack of _animals_!'

Without waiting for a reaction, Izumi sprung forward, ignoring the screaming of her leg. Pai brought his foot up to kick her, but she twisted in the air – he swung his fan, she dodged – and just as he was about to fly up out of her reach, she caught hold of his ankle, pulling him from the sky.

He crashed, full-length, onto the ground, and Izumi, though she realised with a blush what it might look like, quickly pinned him. She clumsily grabbed the hand holding his fan and held it still, then lifted her spear-hand and pointed it straight at him.

'Izumi Vine ATTACK!'

Without a second's delay, the vines coiled irrevocably around him, binding his legs, his arms, his wrists. The fall had winded him, and he hadn't quite recovered, yet; he was breathing heavily, though restricted by the vines around his chest. He was trapped, and completely at her mercy.

Izumi sat back and wondered if she should kill him.

No, she decided. She shouldn't – it would prove that she was better than him if she let him have him life. And he _had _been a worthy adversary...

She clambered away from him, gasping slightly as her leg twinged. 'Well, Pai, let's see you get out of that one,' she commented, admiring her thorough vine-work. He might have to call his comrades for help, and that would be humiliating for him. Izumi smirked at the thought, and decided she'd had her revenge. She turned and limped away, de-transforming once she was out of sight among the trees. She could feel Pai's eyes fixed on her back every second of the time.

* * *

**A/N: Hahaha! I'm done! Did you like it?! I'm estimating about 3 more chapters – I may get this done by the deadline yet. ** XD  
**Well, so long, and I hope to have a new chapter up soon! **

**Izzy**


	11. Theories

Awkward.

That would have to be the understatement of the decade – as a way of describing Izumi and Mika's sharing of a flat over the next few days.

They didn't speak, other than a short 'morning' or 'night', or the need to ask a vital question. They were polite – in fact, both of them were more civil to one another than they had been before their row – but civility covers a multitude of sins. In this case, both of them were waiting, not wanting to let go of the moral high-ground, but waiting for the other to apologize. Izumi didn't think she was wrong, but neither did Mika. Izumi was beginning to wish she'd never said anything.

She seemed to get more tired every day – she felt like she was constantly juggling. Balancing her work, and her sleep, and her secret Mew work, and her thoughts and theories; sooner or later, she was going to miss something. Something would give, and then everything would start collapsing.

Izumi leant her forehead on her hands, running her fingers through her unruly hair. It took so long to brush, and her fringe always seemed to stick stubbornly upright even when the rest was okay. Stupid hair.

As they always did, her thoughts seemed to drift automatically to Mew Aqua. Since her visit to Ryou, and her discovery of the substance, she had been thinking of it a lot; especially the idea of how much power it could give. He had told her about the astonishing healing qualities the substance had, and what had happened to Mew Lettuce at the beach – and that had only been a tiny drop! The amount of power in a larger piece – if one could be gathered, somehow – could be used for, for...

Izumi suddenly started up, with the tangible sensation of being watched. She turned cautiously around, tensing in her seat, but there was nothing behind her, except the window. She peered out, but all she could see was her window-box plants swaying in the breeze (crap, she hadn't watered them for days. The petunias were starting to wither), and a slight shimmer in the air, as if from heat. Izumi shrugged. That had been happening to a lot her recently – she was probably going crazy on top of everything else. She turned around again, took a sip of her lukewarm coffee, grimaced, and remembered what she was thinking about.

Mew Aqua.

An idea about it had been hovering tantalizingly at the edge of her consciousness for several days, and every time she put her mind to the matter, she seemed to be getting closer to some sort of breakthrough. A hazy plan, a hypothesis, based on what she'd heard... the characteristics of it seemed similar to....

Suddenly, Izumi started up, grabbing the first piece of paper that came to hand. She scanned the table for a biro, or some kind of writing implement, but all she could see was a broken pencil, and a dark brown eyeliner pen. Izumi groaned – she could already feel her revelation, which had seemed to make such perfect sense a moment ago, slipping away...

_Screw the laws of makeup – I really need to write this down!_

Izumi grabbed the eyeliner and started jotting.

* * *

If one had happened to look out of a window of the block of flats next to Izumi's, or if they had been passing along the pavement below and glanced upwards, they might not have noticed anything unusual at first. Just a window-box full of dying flowers, a curtain flapping in the breeze; nothing out of the ordinary.

But if they had looked past that, and up to the flat roof of the block, they would have been surprised and curious to see what they would have seen, at that moment. People don't usually sit on top of inaccessible roofs, especially right at the edge. If one had continued to scrutinize the person there, they would have been even more puzzled to see the curious attire the being was wearing, and that they had long, pointed ears. At this point, one might call someone else, or take a picture, or something of the sort.

Luckily for Pai, no-one did look up.

He was sitting on Izumi's roof, having hastily teleported there when she turned around. She was fast; he should have learnt that by now, but despite his knowledge, he still seemed to cut his retreat finer every time. Supposing she had looked around just a moment faster – he would have been in plain sight!

Pai sighed, and leaned forward, resting his chin on his hands as he stared across the city. It was late morning, and the shadows were short and dark under the bright sun. Small clouds scudded across the sky with the brisk breeze that was flapping his ponytail, and all across the city reflected light winked at him off glass and metal, leaving purple splotches across his vision.

He knew he shouldn't watch her like this – but he couldn't help it. She seemed to draw him like a magnet – an object of fascination that he couldn't stay away from.

At first, he had told himself it was just for research. If he observed her, learnt her ways and routines and habits, he could spot her weaknesses; then he could defeat her more easily, and have his revenge. But gradually, the way he had watched her had changed. He had stopped looking with the eye of a strategist, and noticed more and more the things that shouldn't matter to him at all: the way she yawned when she was getting ready for her work in the mornings, the practised way in which she brushed her hair, how her lips moved when she spoke. The way she listened quietly until it seemed strategic to speak, but still didn't give the air of thinking herself above others, or seem so shy as to be inferior. Sometimes, she gained an echo of her old, Mew-leader self, and bossed her colleagues around a little bit too much. She always looked half-asleep and tousled when she woke up in the mornings, like a nocturnal animal.

All of these things were completely unnecessary for his research.

How could he possibly kill her now? Every day, the thought of killing her became more and more unthinkable. He had been avoiding talking to Deep Blue, lest he should give something away with his eyes or actions, which even Tart had noticed and inquired about.

He should just face up to it. He was smitten. And with a human, no less – and worse still – a Mew.

It was something he had never even considered possible – especially not for him. He had prided himself in having a heart of cold, hard stone, ever since his parents' death.

But now, he was cracking.

* * *

Fifteen minutes later, Izumi was running out of her flat, clutching her eyeliner-covered piece of paper and with her bag swinging, half-open from her shoulder, and down her street to the underground station. She pulled out her travel-card, and shoved it into the slot, grabbing it on the other side. She shoved through the jostling crowds of people in the station and bounded onto a train, squeezing herself into a carriage just as the doors shut.

Five stops later, Izumi stepped out, and hurried up the station steps, out into the park. Another two minutes of power-walking, and the pink castle of a cafe was in sight, its candyfloss turrets towering over the neighbouring trees. What _had _induced them to make it so pink?

'_Look at it? Could it be any _more_ pink than it is? Did they design it themselves, 'cause if so, I'm worried!'_

'_Shush, Mika, it's irrelevant how it looks!' Izumi had remonstrated, though giggling herself. _

'_Still...'_

Izumi smiled then sighed at the memory, and walked up the little path toward the cafe. She took a deep breath, and then pushed the door open.

'Izu-Izu-'nee-chan is here again, no da!' A blur of yellow and orange dashed up to Izumi immediately, squashing her internal organs with a tight hug around her midriff.

'Hey there, Pudding; nice nickname you've thought up for me,' Izumi smiled. 'I came because I really need to talk to Ryou – '

'Not Keiichiro, na no da?' Pudding interrupted. 'Why does Izu-Izu hate Keiichiro-onii-chan so much, that she never sees him when she's here?'

'I was just going to say Keiichiro as well, Pudding! Of course I don't hate him!' _Quite the opposite, in fact... SHUT UP, BRAIN!_

Pudding stood regarding Izumi with curiousity. 'Is Izu-Izu hot, na no da?'

'Of course not,' Izumi said hastily, 'Just take me to see both of them, if they're available, please.'

'Sure, no da!' Pudding grabbed Izumi's arm, nearly wrenching it out of its socket, and began pulling her toward the kitchen.

The other four waitresses looked on with mixed surprise and curiosity. 'We didn't get a chance to say hello to Izumi-san,' Lettuce remarked mildly.

Ichigo, on the other hand, was staring hard at the space where Izumi had just been, 'There's something up with that woman,' she said decidedly, 'when she comes here, she just asks to see Ryou and never tells us what about or why or anything! Don't you agree, Mint?'

'Yes,' Mint said thoughtfully, 'what do you think, onee-sama?'

Zakuro was gazing forward with a very strange expression on her face. 'She looks... very similar to Ryou.'

'Yes, she's his cousin,' said Ichigo in a voice that implied it should be obvious.

Zakuro frowned. 'You all know her?'

'Zakuro-san hasn't been here any of the previous times that Izumi-san has come here, Ichigo,' Lettuce recalled. 'The first two times, she didn't work here yet, and then last time both you and her were at that jewellery place... this is the first time that Izumi and Zakuro-san have both been here,' she turned to Zakuro, 'do you want us to introduce you?'

'Thanks, Lettuce-chan, but that won't be necessary,' Zakuro said quietly, giving her partner a rare smile.

'Do you already know her, onee-sama?' Mint asked curiously.

Zakuro just shrugged and turned away. 'We should be working,' she said shortly, indicating the subject was closed.

'Zakuro-onee-chan can sometimes be very mysterious, na no da,' Pudding commented.

Zakuro, meanwhile, had her thoughts elsewhere. So Ryou's cousin was the cat-woman she had met! That explained a lot. But Ryou and Keiichiro had never mentioned her – why not? What was her story? Had she been a prototype? Or part of some other team? The wolf-girl frowned, picking up a large stack of plates to carry through to the kitchen. Yes, Izumi certainly had a lot of question marks by her name – but Zakuro had a gut feeling that soon, all would be revealed.

Yes, something big was happening, alright. She could feel it in her bones.

* * *

'Is that eyeliner?' Ryou asked sceptically, leaning forward and peering at Izumi's messy diagram.

'How do you know what eyeliner looks like that well? Is there something you've been keeping from me, Ryou?' Izumi shot back. 'It's irrelevant what it's written in – I was in a rush.'

'I can't make head or tail of it,' her cousin snorted. 'It doesn't explain anything that I can see. Did you draw it with your eyes shut while running?'

Izumi was opening her mouth to argue when Keiichiro spoke. 'Look, Ryou, it's irrelevant how it's drawn. Izumi, how about you just explain it to us?'

Izumi shot a grateful smile in his direction, thankful that the light of the basement was too dim for him to see the faint blush on her cheeks. 'Arigato, Akasaka-san. Well, since last time I came here, when Ryou told me about Mew Aqua – '

'You came here?' Keiichiro asked suddenly, frowning. 'When?'

_Crap, _Izumi thought, _now he's going to think I avoided him on purpose – well, I did, but – _

'A few days ago,' Ryou informed him. 'Didn't you tell him you were here, Izumi?'

'No,' Keiichiro said shortly, his eyes hard. Izumi winced, and then carried on.

'Well, since then, I've been thinking about it a lot, and I think I've come up with a theory,' Izumi saw both men lean forward slightly, and the atmosphere in the room seemed to thicken. She paused, and then carried on, choosing her words carefully.

'From what I've experienced, each Mews activated, powerful DNA seems to attract the other Mews, giving them instincts to find one another and then stay together. Then when they are all united, their total power increases so that it is more than the sum of its parts – am I correct?'

Ryou nodded.

'And,' Izumi carried on, 'when Mew Lettuce was at the beach a while ago, a small amount of Mew Aqua demonstrated a similar Characteristic – it was drawn to the Retasu's energy, and then fused with it, lending her extra powers. I guess the energy of the Mew Aqua and her energy co-operated – in short, she harnessed it.'

'Yes,' Ryou said thoughtfully, 'I suppose you could put it like that.'

Keiichiro leant forward, and Izumi could see he was eager, even in this dim light. 'So what you're saying is...'

'Yes, here it is – the point,' Izumi paused, partly to put her hypothesis into words and partly for dramatic effect.

'I believe, that if you put enough additional energy into a significantly large and concentrated amount of Mew Aqua – not just a small amount like that which bonded with Retasu, and was used up on a matter of minutes, or a diluted or impure piece – than it would draw the nearby – or maybe even all – Mew Aqua to it, culminating in you having one united piece, _plus _additional energy because it is all together; just like the Mews.'

There was a long silence.

Then Ryou spoke. 'Izumi, I think there're a couple of holes in your plan.'

Izumi looked up, locking eyes with him in challenge.

'Okay, number one,' he started, ticking it off on his fingers, 'in order for your plan to work, we need a chunk of pure, concentrated Mew Aqua. It could take us weeks or even months to find one with enough power.

'Number two: even if we _did _find one, it might not work. We don't know enough about Mew Aqua's behaviour to be sure that your prediction is right, and if it isn't than we'd have wasted a lot of time and energy on nothing. It seems to me that your theory is based on an awful lot of guesswork.'

'I'm sure that it's right, I can feel it – '

'Number three,' Ryou cut across her, 'just supposing everything _did _work out the way you think it will, and we have a complete Mew Aqua crystal, how will we be able to make it do what we want? That much energy could easily get out of control – '

'Lettuce managed to get a piece of it to work on her own! If all the Mews worked together – '

' – posing a very serious threat to all of us,' Ryou finished triumphantly. 'Izumi, thanks for sharing your idea, but it's just not practical, plausible or safe.'

Izumi's self-control, always bad when she was with Ryou, completely vanished. 'And I suppose you're one to talk about people's safety, Ryou!' she hollered, leaning forward and shouting directly at him. 'Look where your crazy science experiments have gotten us – seven people's lives have been completely screwed up, and one person is dead!' She could feel all her pent-up bad temper, resentment and now disappointment pouring out, because finally she had someone to direct it at.

'the only reason I told you about this was to help them. All this time, I've only wanted to help! I know that now that they're together, it's a lot easier, but I wanted to get this whole battle over with before anybody gets seriously hurt, or – '

Izumi broke off, and swallowed a few times before continuing. 'The way I feel about them is how I would feel about my sisters, if I had any. I want them to be safe. I thought you would listen, Ryou, Keiichiro, but that seems not to be the case,' She looked straight at both of them. 'I will continue to fight for the earth, but do not consider me your ally from now on. If you aren't willing to listen when I talk, I have nothing to offer, and can do you no good. Now, if you'll excuse me – '

But then, just as Izumi was turning to leave, she felt a tug on her arm. She looked around, and her began to beat faster as she realised Keiichiro had clasped his hand around her wrist, and was looking into her face with his most heart-melting expression.

'Please, Izumi, reconsider this,' he said quietly, his dark eyes boring into hers. 'you know we do not want you to leave, and I'm sure if we talked your idea over some more, we could – '

She knew that expression, and that voice. She had witnessed them countless times, charming difficult customers, calming tantrums, de-fusing arguments – arguments that needed to be had. She knew how special it made the victim feel – like the most important person in the world. And then, when he'd had his way, she could practically see the gush of whatever magical charm he used switching off.

And yet, she fell for it – she had been falling every time he spoke to her since the first time she met him, more than five years ago.

Every. Single. Time.

Well, not today.

Izumi jerked her hand away, trying to keep the tremor out of her voice and calm her frantically beating heart. 'Stop it, Keiichiro,' she said shakily, 'you always try and pour oil onto the troubled waters, don't you? Stop the arguments, and make us all friends, at least for a while? Well, maybe someday you'll develop enough of a personality of your own to realise that sometimes people _have _to fight, to make what they believe in happen,' she could feel angry tears of unrequited love welling up in her eyes; the words she were speaking were like bitter poison. She wanted to hurt him, like he had hurt her. 'You don't care enough,' she said truthfully, and then turned and ran, pounding up the basement steps before she could witness his reaction.

_And I care too much, _she added silently in her head. _Keiichiro, I hate you..._

_I love you..._

* * *

Ten minutes later, and Izumi was walking in the park, in the same place she had done when she had seen the little Cyniclon a few days ago. She had calmed down considerably, and was mulling over what had been said back at the cafe, trying to think of how she could have said things differently, and avoided the situation she was now in. She hadn't meant things to turn out this way – however annoying she found Ryou, she was his cousin, and they had been through a lot together; not to mention Keiichiro...

Izumi stopped walking and gave a deep sigh, the throat closing slightly as she remembered what she had said. He probably hated her now –

Just then, the air rippled. A tall, dark figure, humanoid but for a pair of long ears, stepped out of nothing.

She felt an overwhelming sense of Déjà Vu.

'Who is it?' she called, cautiously but with no real vigour in her voice. She felt strangely heavy –emotionally drained from a battle of a different kind.

The being stepped forward, but with the sun behind him, Izumi could still barely see his face. She took a tentative step toward him, and heard his breathing catch. She frowned, trying to overcome her sun-blindness.

But then, he spoke. 'Don't you recognize me?'

Izumi knew that voice. It was that cold, cheating soldier she had fought! What was he doing here?! 'Maybe I would,' she said dryly, 'if you weren't standing so that the sun is in my eyes, Pai.'

To her surprise, instead of immediately taking this tactical advantage, Pai moved so that he was standing parallel to her. 'Now can you see me?'

Izumi turned ninety degrees, and saw the early afternoon light lighting up his memorable features – sallow skin, dark grey eyes, lavender hair with a long part bound in khaki fabric.

'I see you're playing fair today,' she remarked, 'I commend you for it. But I don't want to fight you.'

She saw a smile momentarily light up his features. 'I don't want to fight you either,' he said slowly; but suddenly his face darkened into resolve. 'But I will – I have to. You are an obstacle to our goal, and – and I should get rid of you. You have five seconds to transform.'

Izumi quickly touched a hand to her choker. 'Mew Mew Izumi, Metamorpho-_SIS_!'

Exactly five seconds later, Pai flew forward and began his attack.

Izumi wearily went through the motions of the fight – dodge, lunge, thrust, block – but her heart was barely in it, and her mind elsewhere. The strange thing was, she wasn't toast yet – surely, with this standard of fighting, he should have beaten her by now.

Then an odd thought crossed Izumi's mind. Supposing her opponent wasn't fighting at his best either? And if so, why on earth not? This was his golden opportunity to pick her off.

Izumi paused for a moment, balancing on the balls of her feet to look at him properly.

He was pale – even paler than he had looked in their previous encounter. His skin as unhealthy-looking and there were deep purple circles under his indigo eyes. Yes, he did seem tired; she noticed how every movement of attack seemed somehow laboured, as though it were costing him some herculean effort to fight against her...

Crap.

She'd stood looking at him for a second too long – and now it had cost her.

Like an arrow from a bow, Pai flew forward to take advantage of the gaping hole in her defence – he was there before she could move a finger to defend herself. His hands formed manacles around her wrists, her spear falling uselessly to the ground as her hands were disabled. He jerked her arms above her head, rendering her completely powerless to his attack. He could kill her, easily, with one strike.

Now she really was toast.

Izumi screwed her eyes tight shut, thinking her last thoughts.

_Kisshu-'nii-chan, I wish we could have seen each-other once more before our deaths..._

_Mika, you're my best friend forever, and I'm sorry I yelled at you..._

_Keiichiro-kun, I love you – _

_Wait a second – _

She opened her eyes again in surprise. Surely she should be dead by now?

Curiously, she looked up, into the face of her captor – the tall alien who had told her she was going to be killed.

Pai...

As she watched, something seemed to break in his eyes.

He released on of her wrists, took her chin in his hand, then leaned down and kissed her.

To say Izumi was surprised wouldn't just have been the understatement of the decade. The century, maybe. And maybe "surprised" wasn't the best word; maybe "stunned" or "gob-smacked" or "astounded" would indicate the strength of her feelings more clearly.

For several seconds all she did was stand there, immobilized by shock.

Pai released her other wrist and placed his hand on her waist, holding her to him securely. When she still made no move, he ran his fingers through her hair to the base of one of her spotted ears, taking advantage of her surprise to deepen the kiss.

It was around about then that Izumi started to unfreeze.

There was an alien, her sworn enemy, holding her in his arms and kissing her. What was she going to do about it?

Her golden eyes narrowed, her fists clenched, and she pushed Pai away with all her might. Then she leapt backwards herself, to land, tail lashing, a few metres away.

'How _dare _you?!' she shrieked, and then cursed as she noticed that her heart was hammering and there was a blush on her cheeks. Why would an _alien _induce such a reaction in her? _WHY? _'you just kissed me without asking or... or anything! That should qualify as sexual harassment! Or is this kind of thing considered normal on _your_ planet?'

'Izumi...' Pai said in a low voice, and she could see that his face was shocked, even from this distance. _What, _Izumi thought irritably, _does he expect me to be _thrilled _or something? _'I spared your life.'

'And I suppose that makes it okay for you to molest me?' she shot back. 'Look, fine, thanks for not killing me. Whatever. But I am not interested in... being with you! I mean – you're an alien, for Pete's Sake! We're _enemies!_'

Pai looked up, and Izumi saw with horror that there was hurt written plainly on his face. _Oh God, _Izumi thought with horror, _he's not really upset, is he? I didn't think he – _

'No offence or anything!' she blurted hurriedly. 'But it was just be way too complicated! You have your mission, and I have to protect my people too...'

'But Izumi,' Pai said earnestly, 'you could join us! Come with me back to our base, we can talk to Deep Blue – my leader, that is – and I think he'll give you a chance – '

'But I have a duty to my people,' Izumi reminded him, beginning to lose her patience.

He took a step towards her, which she matched with a step back. 'But I'm telling you, Izumi, you could join ours instead! Then nothing would be in the way anymore...'

'But Pai,' Izumi said, slowly and clearly, 'I don't want to join you. I think I understand your motives for what you are doing, but I know that I am currently on the right side – the side of my people. There would be nothing for me but betrayal and grief if I joined the Cyniclons.'

'There would be K – ' Izumi looked up curiously, but Pai had stopped and was saying something different. 'So, you do not care for our race... for me... at all?' he said; Izumi noted with anger his incredulous tone.

'Is that so hard for you to understand, Pai? Save for me, you regard my entire race with disgust,' Izumi spat, 'so why do you expect me to be so eager to up and join yours? You have done nothing to me to think that you Cyniclons are any better than us.

'I am a human,' she continued forcefully, 'and proud to defend my race. If you hate them, you hate me, because I hold many of them far dearer than you have shown you hold me. My love for them is greater.'

Pai tensed. 'You – you mean...'

Izumi stared straight at him. 'yes,' she said quietly, but forcefully. 'I love one of my own. And because of how you regard him, and the whole of my people, don't ask me to try and love you.'

Pai's head was bent, his purple hair falling so that his eyes were in shadow. 'Who?' he asked, his voice full of quiet anger.

She laughed hollowly. 'Do you really think I'm enough of a fool to tell you?' Izumi took a step backwards, then turned to go, addressing a last few words to Pai. 'I hope you'll try and forget this – encounter – Pai. I know I will.'

Pai spoke, haltingly. 'I don't... think I will.'

Izumi looked at him for a few more seconds, surprised at the rush of sympathy for the alien that was suddenly coursing through her. But he was a proud being, and she knew that the thing he would want least right now was her pity. So she merely shook her head and turned around, melting into the trees and de-transforming as she went.

*** * ***

**A/N: Sorry, these last few chapters will be really rushed, as I have... *checks calendar*... three days left to finish this! AAAAARRRGH! Where did the time go?...**

**Well, Ciao – for now! ;)**

**Izzy**


	12. Fight

Mika woke up laughing.

She'd been in another memory-dream of Kisshu – this one of a time they had coerced Keiichiro into helping them make cakes. It had ended up with she and Kish having an epic flour-war, with the aid of few cooking utensils, while Izumi quietly helped Keiichiro get the cakes in the oven unharmed – after that incident with their hands touching and the overbalancing open bottle, of course. She only had to mention spilled milk for months afterwards to make Izumi blush and bury her face in her hands.

But of course, all that was over now. Mika sighed, rolling herself out of bed with a yawn and pacing around her room, grabbing her clothes and pulling her brush through her hair. It was Sunday – her one full day off – and she was far too tired to do anything that required making herself look more than half-ways presentable. Besides, her flatmate and main companion when it came to leaving the house was currently ignoring her... or was she the one ignoring... _ugh. _

Mika yawned widely again and stretched her arms in the air, screwing her green eyes shut. _Damn these nocturnal instincts. I can't sleep at night, and when I wake up, I feel half-dead. _Usually she at least had Izumi to moan with. Now Kish had never been any help when it came to this sort of thing – he was always up at seven on the dot, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed and whining at them to shift their butts to breakfast.

She smiled ruefully and pulled on a sock.

* * *

Izumi was in a bad mood.

It really hadn't been her day, so far. Her day, her week, her month. And the worst thing was, it was starting to show.

She had certainly never been super-model gorgeous – that she knew. She had trouble even looking as good as Mika. But she usually managed to look presentable and fairly pretty.

_I am a wreck, _she thought despairingly, looking in her mirror and then covering her eyes with a groan. She had enormous dark circles under her eyes that nothing would fix, several prominent spots, her hair was unkempt and overdue for a cut, and her whole body had an undergroomed, overworked droop to it that couldn't be ignored. She knew that people were beginning to whisper about her at work, and she didn't blame them. She was visibly cracking under pressure, sinking below it all. Mika, Keiichiro, Ryou, aliens. It was too much for one person to bear.

Izumi looked down at the scales she was standing on and moaned, running a hand through her hair. On top of everything else, she had been eating her feelings.

There was only one thing for it. Sure, it was dangerous, especially in broad daylight and after that stupid article, but it would make her emotions less complicated and speed up her metabolism, so who cared?

Mika padded down the corridor, the shuffle and _slap _of a bare foot alternating as she came to the door of Izumi's room in search of her other sock. She hated having to ask favours of, or even _speak _to Izumi at the moment, but this time there was no alternative. Mika braced herself, and then knocked icily on the door of Izumi's room, waited for a few seconds, before opening it impatiently. 'Excuse me, Izumi-san, but would you happen to have seen my – '

In the midst of the morning sun streaming through the open window, a glow of blue light was slightly visible. And there, just disappearing through the gap, was the tip of a spotted tail.

Mika stomped back to her bedroom, fuming, and Izumi purred in relief. Everything seemed to make better sense, now.

June had only just started, but already the days were hot.

On the first day of the month, the sun had risen in a cloudless, cornflower blue sky, beating down with as much vigour as if it had known that this was the official start of summer. The cicadas chirped incessantly in the trees, and schoolchildren sat through their classes in a stupor, gazing out of the windows at the rustling green trees, dreaming of ice creams and sunbathing.

But in the aliens' base, it was cold.

'Mika...' Kisshu murmured, as he drifted into consciousness. Then he shot upright, and looked around him, breathing fast with wide eyes.

_Just a dream. Again. _

He glanced at the clock on his bedside table. Eleven, in earth time. Darn, he was running behind – he had something he needed to do today...

He rolled himself out of bed, and began to pull on his clothes, not bothering with his bandages. He pulled a comb through his forest-green hair, and flew lazily from his room, fastening it as he went.

'I'm up,' he called, though he would prefer them not to hold him up. Still, nobody would care. Tart was probably too busy mooning over his monkey girl, or "cooking" in the kitchen, and Pai...

...well, Pai didn't really seem to care about anything anymore.

Kisshu frowned, finishing tying his hair and moving toward their kitchen. Maybe he would be able to find something halfways edible that Tart hadn't incorporated / ruined with his culinary experimentation. He dug a roll out of the back of one cupboard, put some spread on it and wrapped it in paper, planning to eat it on the way –

'Kisshu?'

He didn't even turn around – there was only one person in world that was capable of speaking with that lack of emotion. 'Yeah, Pai?'

'Why are you up so late? And where are you going with that roll?'

Kish groaned.

'I overslept, and I'm going for a walk with this roll. Problem?' he said petulantly.

'No,' Pai said in a monotone.

Kish sighed in relief. 'That's fine, then. I'll go now.'

As he melted into hyperspace, Kish checked to make sure his parasites were ready, and transported the Mew Aqua tracker from his room. Late last night, it had picked up very faint signal, probably from someone whose powers were tightly compressed or dormant. However, it seems to be releasing a small but constant signal all the time, and there had been a slightly larger one a moment ago. Kish's plan was to go in search of the Mew Aqua, and, once having procured it, take it back to Deep Blue, thus re-entering his good books once and for all.

But he hadn't told Pai and Tart. This was something he wanted to do by himself.

* * *

'Mina-san!' An urgent shout rang across the room.

Five teenage girls looked up from their preparations for the morning opening of the cafe, and stared at their fair-haired boss, who was standing at the entrance to the room looking abnormally un-chilled.

'Come to the basement, now, for a... conference. Tell Keiichiro to come too.'

They followed him down at varying speeds, depending on their level of enthusiasm for what they knew was coming. As they passed the kitchen, Ichigo called out, 'Akaksaka-san!'

Keiichiro's head appeared over the door. 'Yes?'

'Ryou says we have a "conference" in the basement, now,' Ichigo said, framing her words with significant air-quotes, 'and that you have to come.'

Keiichiro sighed patiently. 'Tell him that I'll come as soon as I've finished this batch of pancakes.'

A muffled shouting came from down the stairs, and Lettuce shot up them, looking scared. 'Ano... Shirogane-san says, um, screw the pancakes, be thankful it's a Sunday or we would have opened already,' she mumbled, turning red. 'He seemed annoyed, Akasaka-san, so I – I think it would be best if you came.'

Keiichiro sighed again, and moved back into the kitchen to turn down the heat. 'I'll be down in one minute.'

Three minutes later, they were all assembled in the basement, and Ryou turned from his computer to face them, his eyes bright with the thrill of a discovery. Or maybe it was just cat DNA. Or eyedrops.

Who knows?

'People, I have something important to tell you. I believe...' he paused for dramatic effect. 'We have found the signal of an enormous cache of Mew Aqua.'

_ALWAYS with the flipping Mew Aqua! _Thought all five girls in unison.

'It's seems to be located in Northern Tokyo, though the signal is very weak and constantly mobile. This suggests that it may be part of a vehicle, or even a sentient being. We'll come with you, and bring our Mew Aqua sensor with us.'

'Because we _totally _won't look like idiots running around Tokyo with two guys and a gigantic tracking machine,' Mint muttered.

A slight smile tugged at Keiichiro's lips; Ichigo and Pudding giggled, Lettuce grinned and even Zakuro gave a reluctant chuckle.

Ryou sighed and pretended not to hear. 'Mina-san, let's just go.'

* * *

Izumi kept on running, relishing the feeling of the ground beneath her paws and twitching her tail from side to side. She ran to edge of the park without a pause, taking detours and cutting across alleys to make sure she wasn't seen, and when she reached the edge of the trees, dropped onto her belly and slunk through the brush to a sunny spot.

She stretched out in the grass, her eyes half-closed and a purr rising in her throat. A small butterfly fluttered past, and she reached up her paw, batting at it playfully until it flew out of her reach. Izumi sighed in contentment, and rested her chin on the warm, dusty grass. If only this could last forever...

'Look, mummy! A cat!'

Izumi jumped to her feet and shot into the undergrowth, cat curses rising in her throat. Stupid kids!

'Are you sure, dear? I can't see anything...'

'It was just there, on that grassy bit! I think it was a leopard, like in-'

Izumi crouched into the light-dappled foliage and stayed still.

'I think you must have imagined it. See how the shadows are making everything all spotty? It was your eyes playing tricks on you... now come along, darling...'

The mother and daughter's voices faded into the distance, and Izumi sighed in relief. She had to be extra careful no one would see her, especially after that stupid newspaper article.

She proceeded more cautiously through the woodland after that, and, after trotting through the scrub for a while, crouching a few times at false alarms and running up a tree when she heard a dog bark nearby. Eventually, after wandering about the woods for some time, she came upon a large and, but for a small, winding path at one end, totally deserted clearing. She could hear cicadas chirping incessantly all around her, and the whole air seemed still with the heat.

Izumi, feeling the heat, made her way over to the shadow of a low, dense maple tree at one end of the clearing and threw herself down in the shade. Then she sat up, and, in the customary manner of cats, began to wash herself – her trek through the woods had left her feeling hot and dusty, and she felt the instinct to tidy up a bit before she did anything else. When she was finished, she made her way over to the tree, rubbed her cheek against it, and was just planning a route up when she heard a noise from behind her.

She stiffened. There was no mistaking that sound. It was a cold, ominous _woosh, _as though the very fabric of the universe was being parted. It was the noise of another nature; something that she had learnt always meant battle.

The sound of a teleporting alien.

Izumi silently turned around and crouched low to the ground, the hairs on the back of her neck rising and her muzzle twisting itself into a snarl. She knew it was only a matter of time before he noticed her – she could hear her blood thundering in her ears, and she could see her choker glowing bright blue out of the corner of her eye. Sure enough, a second later, the alien's ears twitched and he turned around.

Not the baby one, not Pai. It was _him _again. The first one.

Izumi planted her feet into the ground and hissed.

'Hey, kitty,' the alien said, taking a step toward her. 'That's a nice collar you've got on – looks somehow familiar – or maybe it's just déjà vu,' the alien chuckled, and took a step forward. 'Mind if I have it?'

_Oh please, _Izumi thought, _he isn't trying to _rob _me, is he? What interest could an alien have in gold or jewels?_

She lashed her tail from side to side, her instincts raging between attack and flight. If she turned and ran up the tree now, she might distract him for long enough to jump on his head –

_Get it together, Izumi! You're a Mew Mew, for God's sake, not a cat..._

'Mind if I have that pretty collar, kitty?' he said, taking another step toward her. 'I don't want to have to fight you for it – you're only a little leopard, and you could end up getting hurt – ' a flashing silver sword appeared in one of his hands, and as he began to start forward –

Izumi jumped, leaping into the air above his snatching hand and shouting the words –

'Mew Mew Izumi, Metamorpho-SIS!'

She hit the ground behind him in a crouch, tail swung out behind her to keep balance, hand touched to her glowing necklace. He swung around, his eyes alighting with genuine, unmasked shock.

'I'm an ocelot, _actually,_' she said to him, allowing a little banter into her tone. Back in her human mind, he no longer seemed quite so alien – he no longer scared her, past making her cautious. 'Get it right, as-yet-unnamed alien.'

To her surprise, he ignored the jibe, and summoned his other sword. 'Where did you get that?' he barked at her, gesturing at the choker.

She looked at him with surprise. 'It's none of your business, surely – '

'_Tell me!_'

'Old family heirloom.'

'And you use it to transform?' Eagerness, almost frightening in its intensity, entered into his voice. 'Into a leopard? That's not something that most of you Mews do, is it?'

'I told you, I'm an _ocelot_! And why do you _care_?'

'Because,' he said, lifting his swords, 'if so, that choker – ' he flew sharply at her – 'will be _mine_!'

Izumi swore and stumbled to the side, shocked by the ferocity of his attack.

'What's gotten _into_ you?' she screamed. 'I already knew you guys were a little insane, but this – Izumi vine_ ATTACK_!'

The alien had just barrelled straight for her, his sword held ready in his hand, and it had been an easy enough matter to shoot her attack at him. He seemed to have taken leave of his senses – his prior rational tactics and good manoeuvres were gone, leaving only this insane onslaught. She got his legs trussed in vines within a few seconds, and he fell to the ground, cursing and already beginning to hack through the bindings.

Izumi screwed her eyes shut and tried to think. Even though his attacks were bad, it was only a matter of time before the alien would gain the upper hand, and then Izumi was sure that he would show no hesitation on killing her. This wasn't like last time. Now, she could tell that he was totally serious.

If only she had someone here to help her!... but the other Mews were probably going about their lives or at work in the distant cafe, and Mika wasn't speaking to her, and besides she wouldn't – couldn't fight...

_Mika, _Izumi thought, _please, somehow, hear this. I'm your leader, and, deep down, you're a Mew. You know it. And I'm sorry, I'm so sorry to ask this of you. But I'll die if you don't come, I need your help, _please_... come and fight, for me... _help me_..._

* * *

For the Mews, the going had been undeniably slow. The girls were walking in a leisurely fashion, not overly anxious to get to the Mew Aqua ASAP, and there had been small stops for Keiichiro and Ryou to check signal details and the Mews to chat or rest. Once, they had come across a friend of Pudding's sister going the other way, and had been held up for a full ten minutes while the girl excitedly told Pudding about a cat she had seen in the forest.

Right now, they were stopped for Ryou and Keiichiro to check the last five minute's data. The Mews were flopped under a tree at the edge of a north Tokyo park, and the two men were scanning through the data.

Keiichiro looked down at the sensor screen and drew in his breath sharply. 'Everyone, come here!'

The Mews clustered around the machine. 'What?' Minto said, peering down at the machine. 'Has something...'

Ryou stabbed his finger at the screen. 'You see that?' on the screen, Keiichiro tapped a few keys and then table converted into a coordinate diagram of the park area, dark blue in colour; other than an large, pulsating red circle on the left-hand side of the screen. 'That indicates an enormous upsurge in the energy of the area. And if we zoom closer...' the screen jumped in and refocussed, 'we can see the energy is coming from three different sources, all in a concentrated space.

'Three pieces of Mew Aqua?' Zakuro said incredulously.

'One second...' Ryou touched the screen. 'If we specify the energy types...' his blue eyes widened as the circles changed colour, 'this indicates that the energy is being given off by an alien, a piece of Mew Aqua... and a Mew.'

'But... that's impossible!' Ichigo said incredulously.

Lettuce stared at the screen. 'Unless it was... the first time we fought Pai-san and Taruto... Remember the girl we saw? She rescued Akasaka-san and Rei.'

Zakuro had turned very pale, realising what this meant. Ryou and Keiichiro were looking at one another in panic.

'Izumi...' Ryou groaned quietly. 'Idiot... why would she go after Mew Aqua on her own?' Keiichiro nodded.

'How far away is she?' Zakuro said hoarsely, the other Mews behind her looking thoroughly confused. Ryou zoomed out on the computer screen, changing the darkened energy grid to a satellite image of the park.

'From where we're standing now, approximately four-hundred metres due South-west,' Keiichiro said. He snapped down the lid of the laptop and turned around, Ryou following suit.

'Come on!' he said urgently. 'we have to _go!'_

Ichigo dithered for a few moments, and then set off after them into the trees, the other Mews right behind her. 'Tokyo Mew Mew – METAMORPHOSIS!'

_

* * *

_

Mika!

Izumi's voice had just sounded in her ear.

Mika jumped, turning around and scanning the empty kitchen.

'Izumi?' she said aloud. 'Where are you?'

_I'm sorry, I'm so sorry..._

'Izumi, this isn't funny. Come out of wherever you're hiding right now, or – '

And then again, like a radio being turned on, changing from feedback into a convoluted message.

_I'll die if you don't come, I need your help, _please_..._

'IZUMI!'

_Come and fight, for me... help me..._

Mika closed her eyes, shaking her head from side to side. She must have a fever, or something – there was no way this absurdity would really happen, no way.

_A warm, nostalgic and strong power..._

_Blue..._

Her eyes flew open.

'Izumi.'

She got up from the table, knocking over her chair. She pulled on a pair of shoes, and headed for the door, yanking it open and slamming it shut behind her. She pounded down the stairs and out of the building, running as hard as she could in one direction... the direction she knew she must take.

'I'm coming. Hold on!'

* * *

'Taruto!'

'What?'

Pai gestured toward the screen. 'There has been a sudden upsurge of power in Tokyo Park – the computers indicate that a Mew has transformed.'

'Are we going to fight?'

'Yes,' Pai stood up, conjuring his fan from the empty air. 'I sent Kisshu to track this Mew Aqua; he has no chimeras, and if any more Mews transform, he could be in danger. There's a chance that he already is.'

'We'd best go, then. Shall I create a chimera?'

'Bring a few parasites. Hurry!'

_We have to reach the Mew Aqua before they do. I am responsible for this – I sent Kisshu out defenceless. I didn't think. _

'Got them.'

'We have to get there _now._'

The two aliens teleported.

* * *

The alien was gaining the upper hand.

Time and again Izumi only just dodged his blades, twisting and turning so that they missed by little more than a centimetre. The vicious stabs sometimes whistled past her so finely that she could hear the wind of their passage in her ears; once she didn't dodge fast enough and a blade sliced her, a straight, narrow cut slicing cleanly through the skin and into her arm, red blood welling slowly in the cut. Izumi cursed and lost her footing, putting her hands down and grinding to a halt on the grass. Ever part of her seemed to ache, and her arm stung. She pressed her other hand to the wound, and it came away crimson.

'Why are you trying to kill me?' she yelled in his general direction. He didn't answer, just came to a halt in the air, turned around and came at her again, fangs flashing in a wide, frightening grin. She threw herself flat on the ground with a thud and winced as the wind was knocked out of her. She was going to be black and blue all over tomorrow – if she ever lived to see tomorrow, which was becoming increasingly unlikely. As it was, she was just about spent. She couldn't keep this up for much longer.

Pain, weariness and sickening dread in the pit of her stomach. It was so like the end of the old days – when the chimeras were becoming harder to beat, little by little... when they returned, exhausted and bruised, from battles, only just having got away with their lives, and knowing they couldn't carry on winning for long... when they were losing...

A surge of anger rushed through Izumi. After everything she'd been through, she was going to be finished by a solitary enemy, one who had previously seemed against killing her, and seemed to be at least half-mad. It wasn't _fair! _She could feel childish tears rising in her eyes, and she wiped them away with one grubby hand, turning herself to face her adversary.

'Freak! Alien!_' _She hurled at him, staggering to her feet and shooting a stream of vines in his direction. 'Your people have attacked my planet, killed my best friend, sexually assaulted me and now you've turned up, gone crazy over my choker and you're going to murder me for no reason!'

The alien's eyes flashed. 'I need your necklace. It has – 'then he stopped. 'Wait. Your best friend was...'

'Yes, murdered! Five years ago! By your lot!'

'I was never told that – '

_IZUMI!_

_Mika?_

Her choker glowed bright blue. Izumi started, looked around, and then realised the voice hadn't come from the outside world. 'She heard me? How?' she murmured, a smile beginning to spread across her face. She turned back to the alien. 'Tell me: _why _did you want my choker?'

'You don't know?' he said incredulously.

'Know _what? _I've never been so confused in my life!'

'That choker... the stone in it...'

'It's opal.'

_Izumi!_

'No,' Kish took a deep breath. 'I shouldn't be telling you this. But that stone... it's a concentrated crystal of Mew Aqua.'

'_WHAT?' _But suddenly, everything seemed to be fitting into place. The reason she had extra powers... her choker glowing blue, and the feelings she had, knowing something was wrong, that she had to fight... how the alien had tracked her here in the first place... and just now, she had somehow managed to reach Mika, and let her know she was in trouble...

'Mew Aqua,' she said aloud. But he was already lifting his swords, coming towards her.

'I don't want to kill you, Izumi,' he said slowly, 'but I have no choice. I need that Mew Aqua to save my people, and the only way to get it is to take your life.'

_Only a few more seconds – _

'Goodb – '

'IZUMI!'

This time it was real. A frantic yell, sounding a little way away, and then accompanied with the crashing of bushes being thrust roughly out of the way.

'Mika,' Izumi said quietly.

'_Mika?' _The alien looked up sharply, craning around Izumi, toward the direction of the crashing.

'Yes, Mika – my fellow Mew. We fought you aliens more than five years ago, until a fire destroyed our base and killed our best friend... and our enemies vanished.'

'Five years...' the alien echoed. Then his eyes widened. Izumi looked at them, the cat-like, Cyniclon eyes, different, and yet so familiar...

The crashing grew louder. 'What was your friend's name?' he asked suddenly.

'He was called – '

'_IZUMI!'_

And then, Mika – as a Mew – burst into the clearing.

Time seemed to stop.

The three of them looked at one another, their eyes widening, shock turning to surprise turning to realisation. Mika took a step toward the gold-eyed alien, and then another, and he flew down until he was at a level with her, just looking and looking. _Of course. _The dreams, the instincts... everything fitted together, like a jigsaw slotting into place.

_How, _Izumi wondered,had she not recognized his eyes before?

Mika had realised as soon as she saw him. It could be no-one else. She _knew _it was him. It made sense – such perfect sense. And if she had fought she would have seen him long before this! How could it be that he had been on her planet for_ months_ and she hadn't known?

Memories flooded into Kish's mind: bouncing a basketball with two girls and his big brother in a garden; running away down an alley side-by-side with them; fighting alongside her, this woman in front of him, as a human, as a Mew. Being rescued. Being captured and changed. And now...

...here they were. All three of them. But most importantly, _her. _

'Kisshu?' He heard the name whispered across the clearing. He bent his head in a nod.

'Mika-'

But before either of them, or Izumi, could do anything more, the world around them abruptly turned to chaos.

'Go, KIMERA ANIMA!'

'Strawberry Bell Bell!'

An enormous, tree-like chimera roared into life in the centre of the clearing, and suddenly the clearing was full of fighting, Pai, Tart and Tokyo Mew Mew engaged in a full scale pitched battle.

* * *

'Kisshu!' Mika yelled as she was thrown across the clearing by the wake of an attack, and a tree-monster lumbered between them. Izumi, shocked, exhausted and blood-stained, suddenly found herself in the Chimera's direct line of fire. It gave a wordless bellow and one spiky, wood-like limb came towards her, preparing to strike.

'Crap,' she moaned – and then, 'OW –huh?'

There had been a woosh of air coming toward her, a hard, smacking collision, and then the world seemed to have turned grey, with air squeezing in from every side. She wondered vaguely if this was how it felt to die – and then the world came rushing back, and she was being dropped roughly in the shade of the tree she had been napping under as a cat, the breath knocked out of her for the second time that day.

'What the – '

She looked up, round-eyed, just in time to see Pai teleporting back into the battle.

'_Izumi!'_

Keiichiro had just come rushing across the clearing.

And that was just one thing too much. Izumi felt a cold sweat break out across her forehead, and the world began to swim sickeningly, the throbbing pain in her arm seeming to increase in its intensity.

'Is everything alright? Are you hurt?' he asked urgently, kneeling next to her.

'Keiichiro... you should get out of here,' Izumi mumbled, as her mind started to grey out, slipping away from loud, overwhelming consciousness. 'Seriously...'

And then she let herself faint.

Pai was no fool.

When he had seen Akasaka run to Izumi, it had taken him just over the time in which she fainted to put two and two together.

He should be concentrating on the battle. He should destroy the Mews, and then deal with this. But now, his rational, cool thoughts had evaporated faster than he could pull them back, leaving seething, unreasonable, jealous rage in their place. He was no longer thinking clearly – the sight of that man, leader of the Mews, knelt next to Izumi, and the expression with which she had lookedat _him – _it was unbearable.

This human had everything he had ever wanted. A real brother; Izumi; this _planet_, even. The pure injustice of the situation, how unfair it all was, was what drove him forward across the clearing, towards Keiichiro.

'But you will not keep your life,' he snarled, aloud, and then flew forward, lifting his fan to strike.

'KUU RAI SEN!'

Keiichiro looked up from the bandage he had just fastened around Izumi's arm, the beginnings of realisation showing in his eyes. He staggered backwards out of the way just in time, Pai's attack hitting the tree behind where he had been and shaking it to its roots.

Keiichiro began to straighten up, confusion and shock written all over his face. One of his immaculate white shirt-sleeves was charred, and the palms of his hands were grazed from the friction as he had hit the ground. 'What are you doing?' he shouted above the chaos of the battle, struggling to his feet and staring at Pai incredulously.

Pai didn't reply. He flew forwards, paused for a moment, and then landed Keiichiro a resounding blow across the face, sending him staggering backwards and coming up against a tree at the edge of the clearing. Then he drew his fan again, and pointed it straight at him.

'Next time, I won't miss,' he promised. He drew back his fan, and prepared an attack that, to this weak human man, he knew would be fatal.

'Kuu Rai Sen Puu Jin – '

'Ribbon Lettuce RUSH!'

Suddenly, there was someone in his way.

A solid jet of water met the electric energy of his attack full-on, droplets of water flying in every direction as he was separated from Mew Lettuce and Keiichiro by a crackling, incandescent light. He glimpsed Mew Lettuce's face, her green eyes wide with shock as the two attacks burned between them. And then the white light obliterated everything. Pai screwed up his eyes, trying to see past it and make his next attack, but purple spots bloomed across his vision and his hands reached up instinctively to cover his face.

The explosion of energy had caught everybody's attention, the glow of light drawing all eyes from the battle for a few moments – and a few moments was all that was needed.

From over Pai's head, he heard the sound of a shouted attack – but one he hadn't heard for over five years. One he had hoped never to have to hear again.

'Mika Fan _Blade_!'

A flat arc of energy sliced towards the Chimera, and he raised his head to see the third of the original Mews – Mew Mika – floating above him, her glowing fan raised in front of her. Behind him, he could hear the roar of the Chimera in its death throes.

But none of that was what really made him stare.

It was how Mika was staying in the air.

She couldn't fly...

But behind her, his arms wrapped securely around her waist, and staying as steadily still as possible, was Kisshu.

'NO!'

As Izumi forced her eyelids open, she saw Pai kick off from the ground and soar vertically up to face Mika and Kisshu – she could barely wrap her head around the fact it was him – and come to a halt, glaring ferociously at them.

'Kisshu, what in Deep Blue's name are you doing?' he yelled across the suddenly silent battlefield Their adversary defeated, the Mews moved together, Ichigo and Ryou moving to support a dazed-looking Keiichiro and Lettuce.

_What happened to him? _She tried to wonder, but nothing seemed to make sense. And then, she grasped the full enormity of the situation.

Kisshu and Mika were fighting together.

Kisshu wasn't dead.

And this might be the only chance they got to make things right, once and for all.

'Pai, you've been lying to me for five years.'

She saw Pai start back in surprise. 'How – '

'You rescued me from certain death in the fire that burned Keiichiro and Shirogane's base, brought me back to your planet, and, I assume, executed some sort of surgery to turn me into one of you. You also suppressed my memories of my human life behind false ones of a previous Cyniclon existance – but unfortunately, since coming to Earth, they've begun to become stronger again. And when I saw Mika-chan,' she saw Kish's gaze flick down to the girl in his arms, 'they broke out entirely.' She could hear anger in Kisshu's voice, and he flew down to deposit Mika on the ground, Pai following suit. He stepped in front of her and began to advance towards Pai, anger beginning to show in his voice.

'I was a _Mew! _I had an older brother, he was named Keiichiro. I had friends. Why did you take me away from them?'

'You would have died if I hadn't saved you!' Pai retorted, and Izumi was surprised to hear his usual cool voice completely gone, leaving his anger to be easily seen. 'And your family, and friends... they are humans! Humans who, for the most part, are worthless!'

Her choker was glowing.

'How long are you going to keep telling yourself that, Pai? You _know _humans are like us – like _you. _We are just as smart, and brave, and able to feel pain, and love – '

Izumi ducked under the low branches of the tree, and got to her feet.

It was time to make a stand.

**Annnnd, now I'm just rushing to get this darnawful fic finished and hit the complete button. Two or three more chapters, everyone! Not too much longer, I promise!**

**And yes I know the contest isn't going on anymore, and hasn't been for months. I'm just finishing this for my own satisfaction. **


	13. Mew Aqua

**Chapter 12 – Mew Aqua**

'STOP!'

Everybody turned to look at her.

The sight of so many heads swivelling towards her – aliens, allies, near-strangers, and closest friends alike – hit her brain like bullet from a gun. Everything went blank. Izumi cursed herself as she stood there, tongue-tied, inarticulate and self-conscious. So much hung on this one moment. If anything went wrong, the results would be past horrific. The truth was uncovered. It was now or never.

Finally, she managed to find the words, and began, haltingly. 'We... we can't fight anymore... That much is clear. We have too much in common –there's no way any one of us can carry on this war, because what we are doing is wrong. W-we're tied together, bonded by our love... and hate... that's all the same. Kish is Cyniclon and Human; he has two lives, and they're at war inside him. Just by existing, shows that there is no right side in this war. Both are equal. Neither can lose.'

She looked at Keiichiro, and his eyes met hers. And for the first time ever – and the feeling surprised her so much that she almost commented on it – the eye-contact didn't scare her. She didn't want to break the contact and blush and think of something to say to distract herself. She held his gaze with hers, and felt herself get stronger.

'But we have a solution,' she went on, the words flowing more freely. 'Me, and Kisshu, and Mika – we can solve this, end the pain, and the conflict. And if you will help me...' she surveyed the whole group, 'it will mean the end of the war forever.'

There was silence for a few long seconds. Then Pai broke the silence with one word.

'How?'

Izumi smiled, and looked over at her cousin. 'How do you feel about testing my theory, Ryou?'

And then she put her hands up and unclasped her choker.

* * *

Ryou couldn't believe she was gambling so much on this one moment.

He watched, dumfounded, as she removed the piece of Mew Aqua from around her neck, quickly and without fuss. It had been under their noses for so long – how had they not realised?

Suddenly he realised that the attention of the gathering was fixed on him, and he realised that they were expecting an explanation. He cleared his throat.

'As all of you have probably realised by now, Izumi's Mew Charm – her grandmother's choker – is made of Mew Aqua.' He paused. 'This explains a lot.'

He relaxed just a little.

'Since we restarted the Mew Project, Izumi has been able to turn into an Ocelot,' he continued. We had no idea where she was getting the power from, as she was not an adolescent, or otherwise provided with the necessary for the transformation – '

'Or so we thought. But we realise now it was down to the Mew Aqua that was with me all the time,' Izumi continued. 'I've also got strange feelings at moments when the Mews are fighting – my choker glows, and I feel guided towards the place where I'm needed. It was all a mystery – no Mew Charm had power like that before. But now, it makes sense.'

Taruto suddenly piped up, impatience written over his face. 'But none of this is telling us how you can save us! How can you stop the fight? What can you do?'

'Izumi has a theory,' Ryou replied slowly, 'about Mew Aqua.' He motions towards her. 'Explain.'

And so she told them, toning down the scientific terms for those who would not understand them, gesturing in the air, repeating the ideas she told him a few short days ago. Truth to tell, he had been thinking about it a lot, wondering whether she could possibly be right – and slowly, he had found that he believed her. So much depends on this working. His rational mind screamed in protest, calling in probability, and calculations, and the need for long and accurate tests in controlled environments. But in his heart he knew that it was now or never.

'So this is what it comes down to,' Izumi finished. 'Mika, Kisshu and I can put our energy into this Mew Aqua – which, incidentally, must be a very concentrated and powerful piece to have provided me with energy for so long. We will try and stimulate the full release of the energy. If it goes according to plan, all the Mew Aqua within hundreds of miles will be drawn to this spot. Then we will have the complete Mew Aqua crystal, and the full power held within.'

Then Pai spoke. 'And what good will that do us?' asked tonelessly. 'The Mew Aqua crystal will mean victory for the possessor. It will no longer be a pitched battle. There will be no hope for the side without it.'

Kisshu sighed. 'Don't you see, Pai? Once the Cyniclons have the Mew Aqua crystal, the planet can be revived. The planet will as good as Earth, possibly better, and there'll be no more need for you to fight!'

Ryou noticed that he did not say 'we'.

Tart seemed to be concentrating very hard. 'I think I see how this works. It's worth a try, anyway.'

'I agree, na no da!' Pudding spoke up, and the Mews, who had been listening in silence up until that point, seemed to come to life.

'There's a lot of things that could go wrong with it...' Mint said dubiously.

'But I think if it works, it will be worth it,' Lettuce put in. Zakuro nodded.

Mew Ichigo looked around them, her tail lashing uncertainly. Then she turned her pink eyes to Izumi. 'Go for it,' she said simply.

* * *

Mika watched as Izumi nodded and stepped forward, moving towards the place where Kisshu and Mika stood together. Mika realised that the two of them had moved nearer to one another while Izumi spoke; she felt like a magnet, being irresistibly pulled towards him.

Her eyes raked over his face again – she took in his pale, pointed features, his bizarre hair, and lingered on his huge, pointed ears. He had been changed so much, and it was unsettling. She had moved on, but here he was, still a teenager; it was as though he had been frozen in time. But the eyes were the – those beautiful, warm golden eyes. She felt afraid to look away from him, as though he would disappear if she let him out of her sight.

'Are you ready?' Izumi said to them.

Mika tore her eyes away, and nodded. Beside her, Kish did her same.

'Mika,' Izumi reminded her, 'you have something that Kisshu needs.'

She looked confused for a moment, but then realisation dawned. '..Oh!' She paused for a moment, and then put her hand to her neck. Her fingers closed around the simple string of beads, and she pulled them quickly over her head.

'I think you should have these back,' she said to him, and held them out.

His eyes immediately widened in recognition, and she could see dozens of emotions playing out across his face. Surprise, excitement, apprehension, fear...

'I thought these were lost in fire,' he whispered.

'Ryou got them back. They survived – they were stronger than anyone realised.'

Kish recognised the metaphor in his words. 'Mika...'

She laid a hand on his arm, and Izumi took a step closer. 'Kish,' she said quietly, so only Izumi and she could hear. His golden eyes flicked up to meet hers.

Mika smiled.

'It'll be okay.'

* * *

Kish took the beads from her, quickly and without fuss. He looked over at Izumi, and she gave him a nod –and that simple, authoritative gesture made everything hit home. Izumi was suddenly more than just a sister and a friend; she was the leader of their team. They were fitting together, the three of them, into their old places, and Mika found tears prickling behind her eyes, even as she smiled. She knew that this was happening for the last time. They were ready to go.

Kish closed his eyes and took a deep breath, clutching the beads tightly in his hand.

'Mew Mew Kisshu, MetamorPHOsis!'

Everything within him was chaos.

Two sets of memories, programmings, _lives, _were fighting for dominance within him. He could feel his heart beating erratically, and his blood pounding in his head, as though being tossed in a violent storm.

Different images flicked through his mind, spinning as though on a film on fast-forward; one moment he was a small boy with Keiichiro, laughing as they played basketball in a sunny court – the next he was having a mock-fight with Pai, suppressing a laugh as he skilfully tripped his brother and sent him sprawling on the cold, hard ground of the caves... and then he saw Ichigo, the poisoned, forbidden love of his mission, and then Mika, the mystery girl of his dreams... and then Mika, as she stood before him now, older, grown-up...

All was chaos, and he wanted to shrink away from it all. He was being overloaded – he couldn't stand this. Was this how he would die, with his double lives flashing before his eyes? Or would he be driven mad? Insanity didn't seem so far away...

No.

Bending all the power of his heart and mind to the task, he forced his thoughts to order themselves, to stop. He repeated reality, over and over again, like a mantra he couldn't let go of. He refused to let the chaos take a hold of him. And slowly, the chaos began to subside, to ebb away and be absorbed into his consciousness, and to take its place in the true reality. Things began to clear around him.

And then came the wolf.

It had been supressed the hardest, and suddenly, it came exploding with all the energy of the past five years. It was he could do not to be taken over, to howl and bay and run at his oppressors, to fight them as an animal and be avenged. He had thought there would only be two, but now there were three parts were warring inside him – the wolf, the human and the alien – none wanting to give up, all wanting to rule.

Kish's identity, his self felt as though it was cracking – his body seemed to be trying to change into it's Mew form, and his ears burnt as though on fire. He didn't know how to hold on – it would be so easy just to let go, to let each part battle the other two until only oblivion was left.

But he could not. There was too much at stake.

_Think of Pai. Think of Keiichiro. Think of Izumi. Think of Ryou and Taruto, and everybody else who's counting on me. _

_Think of Mika. _

A heat, stronger than anything he had ever felt before, seemed to course through him, and he felt as though, for a brief second, her was white hot, sculpting himself into a new shape. This was a true metamorphosis – a reconciliation of everything he was and had been. He felt it tingle into every part of his body and mind, and the chaos died completely, leaving only certainty.

_I am all these things, in one. I am me, and nothing can change that. I am Kisshu. _

Then, finally, he opened his eyes.

He was disoriented. He must have fallen over during his transformation. And his ears were gone – at least, one pair were. He slowly lifted a hand and touched it to his head, feeling, with no surprise, a pair of brown furry wolf ears there. Then he got painstakingly to his feet, moving his tail to keep in balance.

Everybody was looking at him. It made him feel very uncomfortable. He glanced down at himself and saw he was wearing his old Mew outfit – the wooden beads had somehow got around his neck, as they always did. His skin was still pale, but he could see a few strands of hair in front of his face, and they were almost as brown as they had been – perhaps with the slightest olive tinge, but he was quite glad of that. So why were they all _staring _so?

Suddenly panic seized him. 'How long have I been out?' He asked anxiously. His voice seemed far deeper than it used to, even in the human days.

Mika was the first to speak. 'Umm... about ten seconds?'

'But you were writhing a lot,' Izumi put in helpfully. 'And your appearance was changing like a strobe. 'Which is why,' she indicated everybody else, 'we were all staring.'

Kish nodded casually, like that explained everything. 'Oh, okay then. So how do I look?'

'Pretty... good,' Ichigo said in a strained voice. Mika shot her a warning look.

'Pretty good is something of an understatement, Kish,' she said, and Kish felt himself blush under the look she was giving him, 'I think we'd better wait until you see a mirror, but you're – ' she paused for a moment, then continued '- you're _beautiful_.'

'Do I look older?' he asked eagerly. 'Like, twenty, twenty-five?'

Izumi suppressed a smile. 'Nope. About eighteen, I'd say. Right in the middle – '

'If you're quite done giving Kish a rundown on his new look,' Ryou said loudly, 'do you think we could get on with the plan?'

Mika death-glared him. 'If what you just saw wasn't enough to give your obtuse brain an inkling of _what Kish has just been through_, Ryou – '

'I second Shirogane,' interrupted Pai coolly. Mika bared her teeth and was about to turn on him, when Kish intervened.

'They're right, Mika,' he said, laying a hand on her shoulder. 'We should get on.'

She looked up at him for a second (wait, he was taller than her now?) and seemed to relax. 'You're right. We should get on.' She looked over at Izumi. 'Just give the word.'

Izumi nodded and motioned them to come closer. 'I'm going to put the choker on the ground between us,' she said, 'and then we all need to transfer our energy into it. The combined force of our attacks should release the Mew Aqua's power, and then... we need to hope for the best.'

'Sounds like a plan,' Kish said brightly.

Izumi raised an eyebrow. 'Just check that you can actually conjure your weapon first, Kish.'

He nodded, and held out a hand. 'Bronze Scimitar!' There was a glow of amber light, and the weapon materialized in his hands. 'Aha!'

'We're ready to go, then,' Izumi said. She took her choker and laid it hesitantly on the dry grass. The three of them stood in a circle, and pointed their weapons downward, toward the glowing jewel. Kish felt even more acutely aware of everyone's gaze upon him. The sun beat down. The heat was intense. Even the cicadas had ceased to call. It was as if the whole world was waiting.

'On three,' Izumi breathed. Mika and Kish nodded. 'One, two... Izumi vine ATTACK!'

Mika brandished her fan. 'Mika raimon SURGE!'

Kisshu raised his scimitar, and brought it slashing down. 'Kisshu bronze STRIKE!'

The combined energy of their attacks hit the choker, and the gold was incinerated, forming a white-hot puddle around the untouched gem. The air rose in waves, and the area around the Mews glowed with energy, making the summer sun seem dim by comparison. The Mews stayed rooted to the spot, their weapons bared, pouring everything they had into the jewel at their feet. The moment seemed to last forever.

And then, suddenly, it stopped.

The last of their energy disappeared into the Mew Aqua, and they were left standing there, just as they had been, staring down as the light was drawn in and the molten gold charred the ground. Kish examined himself. He felt no different.

Had it failed?

And then, just as he was about to relax, the jewel began to rise.

It floated, ethereally, upwards, until it was on a level with their eyes. Their it paused, for a moment, and Kish had the uncanny feeling that it was somehow scanning him, seeing into his soul and knowing his intentions. He wanted to look away, and found he could not. He was suddenly struck by the amount of power this contained, that they had released. How had Izumi worn this around her neck for so many years?

But as he watched, Izumi stepped forward, and stretched out a hand. Looking at Mika, the two of them stepped forward and did the same.

They stood there for a few seconds, and then the Mew Aqua began to rise again. The three of them kept their hands outstretched toward it as it climbed upward, until it was over the trees, some fifty metres above him. There it stopped, and Kish felt another moment of waiting.

Then the light seemed to explode.

* * *

Ryou's fists were clenched at his sides. He could feel the nails biting into the skin of his palms, but he didn't care.

This was the point where it would all go horribly wrong – if Izumi proved incorrect. Had it really been wise, trusting his little cousin with so much at stake? He couldn't help but still think of her as little, a younger sister, though she was a young woman and almost as old as he was; even through both their arguments and crazy, dangerous experiments and plans, he had wanted her to be safe. He didn't want to see her plans go wrong, see her hopes crushed before all their eyes.

That, and if the Mew Aqua went out of control, everything within a five-kilometre radius would be royally screwed.

Ryou squinted against the blinding blue light, and watched as the three Mews reached upward towards the source. Their energy was flowing out of them in earnest now, coloured gold, silver and bronze. Where it met the Mew Aqua it turned first a beautiful shade of blue, and then pure white.

A hot, abrupt wind –flash convection currents formed by sudden release of thermal energy, his scientific brain informed him unnecessarily – gusted over him, whipping his hair around his face and making him screw up his eyes involuntarily. He squinted to the side and saw Keiichiro braced against the wind, his eyes narrowed and resolutely fixed on the three Mews. Ryou knew he was as anxious about what happened as he was, if not more so. He had just found his brother, after years of believing him dead. And now, he was risking losing him again.

_Please be right, Izumi. _Ryou was a firm believer that if God existed, he certainly didn't care, but he found himself offering up a prayer, a desperate hope that this would work. _Please let it happen. Please. _

Behind Keiichiro's head, he saw something that made his heart skip a beat.

All over the city, like rising stars, pieces of Mew Aqua were beginning to appear, moving steadily and with gathering speed to the point overhead.

Ryou could have cried for joy.

* * *

Masaya had been studying when it happened.

He felt a sudden, tugging sensation in his gut, as though something was being pulled from him. Then he passed out.

Everything was black, and he seemed to be floating upward toward a blueish light. He wondered if he was dying.

'You have been saved a great deal of hardship by what is happening today.'

He couldn't tell where the voice was coming from. It seemed to resonate all around him, and from within him, too. He couldn't place the tone, or even the gender of the speaker. He felt afraid.

'Who are you? What do you want from me?' He demanded. And then another question seemed to leap into his mind. '_What are you taking from me?_'

'Something that others need, and you have the strength to do without,' the Voice said. 'There will be something inside which fights. Fight back. Fight harder, and you will triumph. Because of what has happened today, you will have to fight him all your life. But you will also be saved a great deal of pain.'

'I don't understand!' Masaya shouted. Was he really shouting, or just thinking with force? 'Please, tell me what is happening? Explain!'

'Ask Ichigo; she will give you what you need to know. You are aware of what she is – tell her, and she will tell you.'

Masaya was taken aback. 'This is... to do with Ichigo? It's not just me?'

'Everything is combined, Masaya. Things are just playing out a little differently.' The light seemed to be growing dimmer above him, the Voice fainter. 'You will find it harder from now on, but keep faith. You have the strength. And Tokyo will not be given the relief it needs... you must help the land, the sea, the world. Now this magic cannot repair the damage anymore. It is up to you. All of you.'

'I know that the Earth is our responsibility. I've always known that.'

It was nearly entirely gone. 'Keep faith. Humans have the potential... to save this Earth... and to destroy it. Masaya... believe in yourself... believe in your race... keep faith.'

And then it was gone.

Masaya awoke, feeling as though he had run ten miles. He was tired. His chest ached. But the fatigue was wholesome and, he felt, somehow right. It was as though someone had taken away a veil between him and the rest of the world – he felt connected, earthbound, human...

That was it. He felt more human than he had ever done in his life.

* * *

Piece upon piece of Mew Aqua was coming, joining and fusing as though it would never end. Mika could feel the mounting power growing above them, and felt a flicker of apprehension. Could they handle this energy? Was there going to be just too much?

She glanced to the side, and saw Kish looking her way. He gave her a tight smile, and she felt her heart flutter in her chest. If they did go down, at least it would be together, reunited. She knew she would rather die now than have lived the rest of her life without seeing him again.

Mika towards Izumi, whose eyes were trained unwaveringly to the Mew Aqua above them. She was pink-cheeked and her hair was blowing into a tangle in the searing wind. The white-blue light of the Mew Aqua threw her face into sharp relief, her eyes a glowing, almost inhuman shade of blue. Mika felt her doubts lessen as she watched. Izumi was sure this would work, and Mika trusted her. They would stick it out together.

'It's nearly finished!' Izumi hollered above the wind. 'Look!'

And sure enough, above them, the huge, pulsating light seemed to condense into a single sphere of brightness, until they could clearly see the glassy form of the complete Mew Aqua showing through. The pieces joining it were smaller and smaller, joining the whole like a small magnet snapping onto a large one. There were ten pieces in the air... five... three. The final piece, a miniscule blob no bigger than Mika's thumbnail, sailed through the air and joined itself onto the whole.

It was complete.

All at once, the storm died away. The chaos stopped. All that was left were three windswept figures, clutching between them a sphere of the purest blue, emitting the faintest, most radiant light.

* * *

For a moment, all Izumi could do was gaze up at the Mew Aqua above her head. Her eyes were wide and her breathing fast, as though she had just run a marathon. She could feel a pleasant tingling feeling beginning to run up her hands from the place where they touched the Mew Aqua, as though they were being held in warm champagne.

They had done it. They had actually done it.

She glanced toward Mika, and then to Kisshu. A flicker of understanding seemed to pass between the three of them, and suddenly, the other two were drawing their hands away, and Izumi was left holding the Mew Aqua alone. She looked down at her battered human clothes, and then at them.

'Guys...' she said softly.

'Izumi,' Kish reached forward and placed a hand on her shoulder. She looked down at his Cyniclon clothing, and then up his pale skin, taking in his still-olivey hair and teenager's build. And then she met his gold eyes, and it finally hit home. Kisshu was back. The three of them were together again. The first three Mews.

And she was their leader.

'It's up to you now.'

Izumi brought the Mew Aqua down and cradled it for a moment, squinting her eyes slightly to look straight into the pale glow. It was really so beautiful, and as she gazed down at it, she felt a sudden pang of selfish nostalgia. She used to have a piece of this with her all the time, locked away in a talisman for her and her alone. She yearned to keep this thing, this beautiful blue sphere; keep it close to her heart forever.

But she knew that she couldn't.

She grasped the Mew Aqua a little tighter and crossed the grass to where the others stood, subconsciously clumped together in reaction to the intimidating spectacle they had just witnessed. She looked at them, her eyes dwelling for a moment on each face. Her gaze came to rest on Pai.

He was looking down, avoiding her gaze completely. His muscles were tense, and she could see that his fist was clenched tightly around his fan. His features were a cracked mask of barely suppressed feelings; his shoulders had an uncharacteristic slump. He had been a proud, analytical warrior – now he was worn down by defeat, a beaten man.

'Pai.'

He looked up.

'The Mew Aqua is completed – the healing power of it is unimaginable. There isn't an obstacle that it can't overcome. The owner will have the potential to end this conflict once and for all.' She paused. 'I think that you should have it. I trust you.'

Pai stepped forward, and every eye followed him as he crossed the no-man's land, reached out his hand for the ball of energy. Izumi passed it to him, staring into his eyes with all the expression she dared, willing him to be a man of honour, to do the right thing. Hoping that this trust would be enough for them to reconcile, to repair the damage she had caused by spurning his feelings and taking his brother.

'Please,' she said quietly, 'prove me right.'

He took the Mew Aqua in his hands, and looked down at it, testing it in his hands. Then he looked up, and there was a new light in his eyes.

'Izumi. Thank-you.'

There was a pause, in which the very air seemed to hold its breath.

'We will use this to make a new life for the Cyniclons... on our own Planet.' Suddenly, a brief, genuine smile lights up his face. 'I know that Deep Blue will object, but I don't care. You are right. Our two races must not fight anymore.'

And then Kish runs forward and nearly strangles him in an embrace.

* * *

**A/N: AND IT'S FINALLY FINISHED! THE ACTION IS DONE! Now all we need is a fluffy chapter to round things off, and this fic will be finished. Wow. I never thought this day will come. **

**I am aware I no longer actually have to write this fic. THe contest finished like half a year ago. Or was it a whole year ago? I don't even know. But I'm determined to finish this fic, and so here we are. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! ^_^**

**Izzyxox**


	14. And Last

**Chapter 13 – And Last**

After that, there was very little to be done.

The Cyniclons took the Mew Aqua safely back to their ship, Kisshu and Mika accompanying them, with a promise to return to the Cafe as soon as they could. Izumi watched them go, feeling suddenly very left out and alone.

She took a last glance around the clearing, and ran away through the trees, in the scalding heat, with an overwhelming sense of Deja Vu. The first time she had run through these woods, she had been leaving a broken enemy behind. Now, she was leaving a mended couple, and a group of celebrating superheroes.

It was certainly an improvement, she thought.

She went home, and detransformed, changing into some different clothes. Nothing golden or blue – a plain green shirt and a charcoal skirt. Then she called into a salon and asked if they had any hairdressers free.

'As a matter of fact, yes,' said the girl behind the desk, and called up a tall, dark-haired man whom Izumi was quite sure, not wanting to stereotype, was gay.

'So what are we having done, darling?' he said, once she was seated in a chair with a glass of water. 'Some more layers, or a perm? Perhaps the fringe trimmed here?' he gestured to the shaggy mass of hair framing her face.

Izumi smiled. 'You know what? It's time for a change. I'd like you to take the whole lot off.'

~O~

Lettuce walked around the harbour of Tokyo Bay, feeling the cool evening breeze on her face and mulling over the day's events in her mind.

Everything had been sorted out – Kisshu and Mika had come back to the cafe in the late afternoon, proclaiming that everything was settled and the aliens would be leaving for their home planet in the next few days. Though only Ryou and Keiichiro had met the two of them before, it didn't take long for Kisshu and Mika to fit easily into the group, and Lettuce had taken to them at once.

However, the one thing that nobody seemed to know was what had become of Izumi.

'I was hoping that she would be with you,' Ryou had frowned. 'We haven't seen her since the end of the fight.'

'Well, we thought she would be with _you_,' Mika rejoined. 'She might be at the flat, I suppose, but I think it's more likely that she's gone off alone on purpose.'

'I think you're right,' Keiichiro had agreed, 'and I don't think we should worry. Izumi can look after herself.' He sighed. 'I would like to see her, though.'

Ryou had grinned and punched his arm, and for the first time ever, Lettuce had seen a blush spread across the usually composed face of Akasaka Keiichiro.

Yes, it had been a strange day. But it was to get even stranger – when she had taken a solitary walk around Tokyo Bay in the twilight, the last thing that Lettuce had expected was to meet Pai.

The air rippled close by her, and suddenly he was there, looking tired and weary, but nonetheless relieved.

She stepped sharply backwards with a small cry of shock, clenching her fists to stop herself reaching for her power pendant. He stepped out of the air and onto the concrete.

They stood there in silence, looking at one another, as the seconds lengthened and the sea breeze moved their hair.

Lettuce swallowed, and broke the silence. 'P-pai-san?' she said nervously. 'Why are you... why are you here?'

'I've been to see Izumi,' he said calmly. 'And spent some time thinking.'

Lettuce frowned, more than a little puzzled. 'You have?' she said, trying to sound politely interested rather than more nervous than she could remember being before in her life.

He nodded. 'I have.'

There was another silence. 'So Pai-san?' Lettuce said. '...Why are you here?'

And then both of them started laughing, rather hysterically. Lettuce found herself staring at Pai's face in laughter, because it was so strange and different from his usual expressions of detachment or hatred; like seeing a rose opening in a snow-field. And yet laughter suited him, just as well, if not better. She couldn't take her eyes off him.

'Lettuce, you never wanted to fight,' Pai said, suddenly, speaking quickly. His laughter was gone, and his face was different again; open and earnest. 'You had qualms in every battle we ever fought, and never exercised your full potential, though it put you at risk and made you appear weaker than your team mates. The only times you used them fully were to help and protect others. And... I know it sounds like madness... D-due to this, and many other contributing factors... I find myself to be...'

'Don't,' Lettuce said suddenly.

Pai stopped abruptly, and looked at her with more than a little hurt. 'Why?'

'Because... it's too fast. You and I have barely met. This is the first time I've spoken to you off the battle-field. And... there's other reasons too. I never considered this before. It's an alternative that I don't want to rush into. Especially seeing as... well... I recently liked someone else.'

'You too?' Pai said quietly.

Lettuce nodded. She thought of Ryou, and the way that until recently, his face had occupied her every thought. Then she looked at Pai, and thought about the battle, and hazarded a guess.

'For you... Was it Izumi?'

He nodded.

Lettuce accepted this new revelation in silence, and for a long moment, they just stood there, gazing out to sea, each thinking their own thoughts.

Then Lettuce reached forward and took Pai's hand, awkwardly. It was colder than she expected. 'Now is still too soon. But I think... given time, we could...'

'Be together?'

'Yes.'

He squeezed her hand, and she looked up at him, memorising the way that his hair moved in the wind, the dark circles around his purple-grey eyes, the slight lines etched on his mouth and forehead. The white scar on his sallow skin. How had he got that scar? What would the people on his planet say when he returned? Why had he loved Izumi, and what had happened between them?

A thousand questions, and no answers. Now wasn't the time for them, but she could wait. She would wait.

'If... when... I return to Earth,' Pai said quietly, 'it will be for you.' He reached towards her and brushed a strand of hair off her face. She felt herself blush. From a distance, did they look like two regular lovers, on an evening stroll?

Maybe they would be, some day in the future.

Not today. But some day.

Lettuce smiled. 'I'm looking forward to it.'

~O~

Mika turned the lock, and she and Kish stumbled into the apartment. She flicked the lights on, and glanced at Kish, gauging his reaction. 'What do you think?' She said at last.

'I still can't believe that you have your own _apartment._' Kish said wonderingly. 'It feels so darn weird.' He moved over to the sink, and flung his arms wide. 'You have a view over the city! And a _potted plant!_'

'Keep it down, Kish. Izumi might be here trying to sleep. And you mean Fernando the Cactus?' Mika sniggered. 'Izumi brought him with us ages ago, when we first moved here. I have no idea where she got him from. You can stroke him, if you like. But neither of us have watered him in forever, so he might be a little grouchy.'

'Okay, you named him – it. That's the Mika I know.' Kish turned around. 'D'you have any food? I'm starving.'

'I think there's some cheese and pickles in the fridge, and if you don't mind cold rice, we have a few – '

'Hey, dif if gud cheefe,' Kish said, spraying crumbs everywhere. 'You'f gotta get fome more.' He reached into the empty packet and came up with a few crumbs.

'Kish! Please don't tell me you just ate that whole packet of cheese!'

He shrugged and swallowed. 'I'm hungry.'

Mika huffed and folded her arms. 'You are totally earning your keep, as of tomorrow.'

'What, with no CV? No qualifications? And these ears?'

'Your ears are very slightly pointy, Kish. Your skin is almost normal, and so what if you hair's a little green? Nobody will care.'

Kish spread his arms. 'Technically, Mika, I'm still in school!'

She groaned. 'Don't remind me. It makes me feel like such a cougar.'

'Cougar?'

'I guess that term wasn't in when you...er... a cougar is an older woman who preys on hapless young men.'

Kish shrugged. 'Oh. Well. There's only really a few year's difference maximum.'

'You're right, though; we should probably see about getting you your life back,' Mika sighed. 'Ryou's rich and well-connected, I'm sure he can work something out for you. And... if you like... I guess you can stay here.'

'Okay,' Kish looked around. 'So where do I sleep?'

'Izumi's room is that one,' Mika hedged, peeking in the door. She sighed in relief as she spotted her friend's prone form under the covers. 'She's back, and dead to the world, by the looks of it.'

'And my room is the one next to it,' She continued, 'and, er... the couch is there,' she finished awkwardly.

Kish's face clouded slightly. 'So I don't sleep with you, then.'

'Kish! No!' Mika felt her face growing hot. 'It's... I don't know if it's... appropriate.'

'Why not?'

'Because – because – you're about sixteen. And I'm in my twenties. And we haven't seen eachother forever... and...' Mika felt herself getting upset. 'Are we even... were we ever?...'

Kish stepped towards her, and suddenly his arms were around her waist, and she was staring up into his eyes. His eyes that had always been gold, no matter what.

'Hey,' he murmured. 'I've been waiting for you for years. Do you want this, or not?'

Mika gave something between a laugh and a sob. 'I love you. You're all I've ever wanted.'

Then Kish leant down and kissed her soundly on the lips, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her firmly to him. She sighed and leant against his chest, a feeling somewhere between relief and euphoria flooding through her. It was happening. _Finally. _

Eventually, they pulled away from one another, and stood, breathless, looking into one another's eyes.

'I love you too, Mika,' he said, leaning his forehead against hers. 'More than everything else in my past lives put together.'

Mika held him tighter. 'Then... I suppose... What are we waiting for?'

~O~

_Brrrrriiinnnng. _

_Brrrrrrrrrrrinnnnnnnng. _

'Urgh._'_

_Brrrrrrriiiiiinnnnnnnng._

_Brrrrrrrrrii – _'Hmmmnyello?'

'Good morning, Izumi – is that you?'

Izumi rubbed her eyes. 'Well, it is my number, Ryou.'

'I was just checking, because you sounded far less vivacious than I expected.'

'What's that supposed to mean? It's ten o'clock on a Saturday!'

'... Izumi, you weren't actually still in bed, were you? Most civilised people are up and about by this time.'

'It's a Saturday, Ryou! The only day that I don't have to get up for work! After a long, tiring week, the last thing I feel like doing is getting up early when there's absolutely no poi... by the way, why are you calling?'

'I just wanted to let you know that we haven't seen hide or hair of the aliens for a fortnight. Other than Ichigo's constant worrying about her boyfriend, things are fine.'

'I'm glad to hear that,' Izumi said, 'although I hope that the aliens don't just completely abandon this planet now they have what they need. An interspecies relationship would be great, and... I know Kish would miss them.'

'I expect they'll be back... eventually. They've got to sort out their planet before they can do anything else. But after that, I see no reason why they wouldn't return.' Ryou paused for a moment. 'Lettuce especially seems convinced of it.'

Izumi smiled. 'She does? That's interesting. So the girls are all doing well? You said that Ichigo was having boyfriend troubles?'

'Apparently this boy has been acting a little oddly for the last few weeks... mood swings, slightly lower grades, spots and sleepiness, that sort of thing. Typical teenage stuff, but it Ichigo says it's worrying him, and her by proxy. It's a storm in a teacup, most likely, and eventually they'll get used to it.'

'Being a teenager sucks, as far as I recall,' Izumi sighed. 'Everything is changing inside you, and you have to adjust. But at least they have eachother. I'm sure they'll make it through just fine.'

'Yeah, I expect they will. And... Izumi? If you want, then keep on visiting the Cafe. I think it'll do the girls good to see you.'

'I will. And I'll make sure the two lovebirds come by as well.'

Ryou snorted 'I don't know how you put up living with those two.'

'They _are _my best friends, Ryou. I can put up with a certain amount of billing and cooing.'

'Ah, but for how long before you go insane?'

'Shut up, Ryou!'

'Okay, okay, fine. I know you guys are just glad to be together again.' There was a pause. 'Izumi?'

She sighed. 'Yes?'

'I'm... sorry about everything the Mew Project has done to your lives. But I'm also very grateful for everything that you've done for the Mew Project. All three of you.'

Izumi smiled. 'Hey, don't worry about it. In the end, everything played out, and all's well that ends well, ne? It's past, and we're all still alive – and possibly better off than we would have been otherwise.' Izumi paused. 'Thanks for the apology, though.'

'Don't mention it, I guess. One of the signs of a great leader is that he will be able to admit his mistakes.'

'Urgh, stop spoiling it! I'll see you around, Ryou.'

'Okay then. Have a nice day, or what's left of it.'

'Whatever. Bye.'

There was a beep, and the phone went dead. Izumi sighed, stretched, and shuffled out of bed, pulling on some clothes, and sliding her straighteners through her newly manageable hair. She inspected her face in the mirror, noting with satisfaction that her skin was clearer, and the creases under her eyes all but gone. Her work was back on track. Her friends were her friends again. The idea of brushing her hair didn't make her groan. All in all, life was beginning to get good.

She was just heading to the kitchen to scour the fridge for breakfast – since Kish had moved in, food seemed to disappear at an alarming rate – when she heard her phone begin to ring again. With a sigh, she swung the fridge shut and picked it up.

'Hello?'

'Good morning, Izumi – this is Keiichiro.'

'Keiichiro-san!' Izumi felt her heart beat a little faster – but only a little. She wasn't completely losing her head, like she used to. 'Do... do you want to talk to Kish? I'm afraid he's still dead to the world, but I can take a message.' Izumi knew that the two brothers had seen each other often since Kish's return, but this was the first time that she had talked to Keiichiro herself.

'Just Keiichiro is fine, Izumi, honestly. Haven't we known eachother long enough to leave off honorifics?' To Izumi's dismay, he sounded slightly irritated.

'Well, yes, I suppose so. I just wanted to be on the safe side.'

'Hmm.' Keiichiro hesitated. 'Well, actually, I was calling to talk to you, Izumi...'

'You were?' Izumi leant against the counter for support.

'I was wondering whether – perhaps you would like to meet sometime today?'

'Just you and I?'

'Yes.'

'Alright,' Izumi was unable to restrain the huge grin that broke across her face. 'Any ideas as to when and where? Wait, have you had breakfast?'

'Does coffee count as breakfast?'

'Well, neither have I. What do you say we meet somewhere in about ten minutes and eat?'

'That sounds great! How about that Café by the park gates? You can get there in ten minutes, can't you?'

'Yes. I'll see you there.'

'So...' She heard him take a deep breath on his end of the line. 'It's a date?'

It was all Izumi could do to not faint. Instead, she said, in a way that she hoped sounded amusing and sophisticated, 'I was afraid you'd never ask!'

He laughed, and Izumi realised that he sounded relieved. 'I almost didn't.'

'Well, I'm absolutely glad that you did. I'll see you in ten minutes.'

'I can hardly wait until then.'

The sound of the dialling tone was entirely drowned out by Izumi's shriek of joy.

Her past life might have been hard, but this was worth the wait.

**THE END**

**A/N: And we're done. **

**I just finished Past Lives. YESSSS! **

**Masaya's unexplained problem: Because Masaya no longer has Mew Aqua in him, he is not so perfect. He is having to go through all the usual shizz that teenagers have to deal with. The uber-talented Laura Schiller wrote a one-shot in which this happened. You'll find it if you go to her profile. I'd recommend it, it's very good. **

**Well, this concludes my story. I hope that you've enjoyed it, because I (mostly) enjoyed writing it. And I especially hope that YOU enjoyed it, Mika! :D **

**Izzyxox**


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